A few weeks ago, I made a comment to the effect that "Obama supporters know he's not the Messiah, and that he'll do or say things they disagree with, but they are Ok with that".

Color me naive or too optimistic. So here's a little space for everyone to get off his or her chest what they anticipate being disappointed by. Because, even the most rabid Obama supporter will have it happen. I've even offered a poll to suggest some ideas.

I want to talk for a few minutes about the current presidential election, and compare it with the record of some previous executives. History, I believe, can enrich the conversation here.

Let me admit my bias: I am for Obama. I firmly believe that he is the best candidate to lead America forward, and to begin extracting the American state and nation from the morass that is the eight disastrous years of the Bush presidency. Obama is my man, and I follow his campaign closely. This does not mean that I am an acolyte, and barring a brief bout of Obamania in February, I try to be harder on him than with the other candidates. Nevertheless, he emerges again and again as my overwhelming choice.

Kid Change Vs. The Cryptkeeper

Obama’s completion of the perfect ten in a row, all by substantial margins, makes it increasingly likely that we will see a great nation defining matchup of Kid Change vs. The Cryptkeeper. In one corner we see the youthful energetic hope mongering of Obama surrounded by a multi-cultural multi-generational crew and in the other corner the grim fear mongering of McCain flanked by even older and whiter men (if that’s possible).  

Ladies and Gentleman this is the kind of match you would gladly pay money for and thanks to the digital age we all have a ringside seat via cable/satellite tv and the internets.

Let’s take a quick look at the comparison of the two fighters:

This is a brief piece on where the US stands according to global rankings of political and human development, as ranked by the UN, respected NGOs, and journalists.  It was written to dispell the myth that the United States is the "greatest" nation on the face of the earth.  We are good, but we have room for improvement.  02.10.08.

I'm sitting in my tiny dining room/children's play area/throughway between the living room and the kitchen, listening to The Wiggles sing the virtues of olive oil intermingled with the occassional soft murmurs from my four year old as she plays with her collection of stuffed animals, while my son draws in a Charlie Brown coloring book. Outside a heavy, wet coating of snow weighs down tree branches and gives the world the appearance of being covered in so many cotton puffs, hastily glued by an overly-enthusiastic pre-schooler who just didn't know when to stop.

We are a small family of small means, living our small lives in the small rooms of our small, cozy bungalow. Soon I'll have to fix lunch and start nap time, but before I do I just wanted to share some quick thoughts, ramblings really, about who I am and why our family supports John Edwards.

The in-tuned blogosphere already knows a lot about John Edwards: the endorsements he's received by state SEIU chapters including the important states of Iowa and New Hampshire; the endorsement by Friends of the Earth and the most recent endorsement by Iowans for Sensible Priorities. Folks are also aware of his calls for an end to the corrupt system in Washington, D.C., a system he defines as being "rigged" against all of us people who work for a living.

At first blush, this may seem like smart politics. Appealing to the base. Riding the wave of middle class anger. But there's something a lot more profound going on here, something that is an anti-Bush, Rove-free approach to democratic politics.

Come follow me and I'll tell you what I mean...

Just a few weeks after vetoing health care for American children, the president has again threatened to block investing in important domestic priorities here at home.

The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill that I will manage on the Senate floor this week supports American families, invests in this country's future and reflects our shared values.

This bill funds life-saving research, Head Start, support for K-12 education, home-heating assistance for the poor, mental health and substance abuse services, student financial assistance, job training, and a whole host of other critical domestic needs.

http://article.nationalreview.com/...

Now we know why President Bush talks the way he does about Iraq.

His BRAIN told him so.

The words we hear almost every other day coming out of President Bush's mouth are those, he's apparently been given, by Karl Rove (his so-called brain).

It's no wonder people all over this world have been asking themselves, does this President ever see the real world?  This column written by Karl Rove answers that question.  Of course not.  His real world is Karl Rove and others like him that are now going to try and change President George W. Bush and his administration's history.

Yesterday, I examined Hillary Clinton's foreign policy stances, along with the similarities between her positions and that of the organization she is a leader of, the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Whereas Clinton and the DLC seem to skimp on the details and breadth when it comes to overseas affairs, they go a fair bit more in-depth on domestic issues, which is really the cornerstone of the DLC's existence. However, when it has come to the domestic policy agenda in the 2008 campaign, Clinton (along with her main rival, Barack Obama) hasn't been setting the tone of this campaign - that distinction belongs to John Edwards. In examining Clinton's domestic policy agenda, it stands out for being unspectacular - and more importantly, for what it leaves out entirely.

The point of Prime Minister's Questions is to provide a public forum where at least once a week, the most powerful person and party in government is directly challenged on his (or her) policies regarding the most important issues of the day. We need to adopt this kind of accountability here in the United States.

There are some interesting things being said by candidates. Perhaps there are some common themes that ought to find their way into an agenda for '08, no matter who carries the flag.

I've devoted this effort to domestic issues because there isn't a lot of doubt that no matter who is the next President, we have to reinvent American Foreign Policy.

This is, admittedly, far from exhaustive - but we all have day jobs.

I'm doing this simply because I'd like to see some discussion of these points that are a little better informed than what I see usually on the web.

So who has the best ideas and why?

Yesterday I saw John Edwards speak at Howard University in Washington DC as part of his college tour, so yesterday was a good day! I got there early enough to sit in the third row in the center, so I got some good videos of the event, considering I'm using my tiny digital camera. (Definitely not a professional video set up.)

John spoke for about 25 minutes about our leadership in the world, the example we set at home, climate change, health care, poverty, and education. Then he took questions from the audience.

I've been a fan for a long time, so I feel quite familiar with most of his positions on the issues. Most of it was the same old amazingly inspiring and revelatory, life-changing excitement, if one can ever describe JRE's standard fare as "same old." There were a few new twists, though.

A frequently asked question on Daily Kos is "what is the Democratic Leadership Council, and what does it stand for?" One way to find out is to read The Plan: Big Ideas for America, by Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Reed. Emanuel, the House Democratic caucus chair, was a senior adviser to President Clinton; and Reed is the DLC's president. So The Plan is essentially the DLC playbook.

There is a misconception about the role that a four star general plays in formation of policy within the United States Armed Forces. The problems and solutions put on the desk of someone rising through the ranks within the armed forces is not simply a matter of how many tanks are situated in that person's command, but moreso the health, welfare and well being of the people that are part of that unit.

Below is a quick discussion of the types of issues that General Clark was faced with during his tenure as Supreme Allied Commander Europe and as Commander at Fort Irwin in California.

From seeing these types of interviews more than a few times, it becomes apparent why Gert Clark is often referred to as "The General's General"!

It's time for the first addition of 'Ask MickT'. A time to ask a aging and depressed asshole on the future of America.

First MickT, let's talk about about the average American. What hope do they have? Any changes to benefit them?

MickT: My first thought is to go the 9th Ward. But that would be wrong. For they experienced a natural disaster. East St. Louis would probably be better. That's a good place to highlight how our society is fully capable of enriching all. Downtown Detroit. South side of Chicago. Downtown Indy is full of fun. District of Columbia. LA. Small farmers. Laid off workers from textile mills in the Carolinas..... But I heard on the radio today that the income disparity is not real. It is all people spreading a nasty rumor using federal tax data from different years when tax laws were different. So the poor aren't getting poorer and the rich aren't getting richer. Therefore, since the average American is doing great, don't expect any change. My radio wouldn't lie.

In what may prove to be one of the more interesting spoils of victory plundered from the November elections, Henry Waxman just handed Dennis Kucinich a prize as the chairman of a revamped subcommittee on domestic policy.

Waxman's announcment on Wednesday listed the democratic members of the House Government Reform and Oversight subcommittee. The full committee is expected to confirm these members today.

It's kind of like giving our progressive pal Dennis a shiny new Mr. Microphone and putting soapboxes on every corner for him to stand on. This is going to be fun to watch.

There are very few people who posess the ability to walk into a situation that the world regards as untenable, sit down with parties that don't want to negotiate, and hammer out agreements that are regarded as win-win by all sides involved.  Bill Richardson, Governor of my beautiful homestate of New Mexico, is one of these rare people.  

The GOP is dependent on fear-mongering to get people to the polls; but it seems to me that after six years of Republican controlled government - you should be afraid.