Comparison of July and August presidential polls
In states that had polls in both months

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Never was there a more ridiculous statement for netroot progressives.  Yet, it would seem in the current Georgian crisis that because Georgia has been a staunch ally of President Bush and supported his foreign policy – including sending a troop contingent to Iraq – that the current conflict has been reduced ad absurdum to a new round in the Bush Wars.  And the obscene corollary – that the Russians are, somehow, liberators.

Wikipedia Commons

Dated Brent Spot - 112.74 !!

Crude prices continued their dizzying spiral down on Friday, shedding nearly four dollars to trade below 114 dollars a barrel as the US currency strengthened amid concerns about energy demand, dealers said.

http://afp.google.com/...

The Bighorn Mountains are on my doorstep.
High in the Cloud Peak Wilderness -
Clear Creek begins its journey to the Mississippi.

I have no illusions, whatsoever.
I am truly blessed.

Yep.  You read it right.
Is this guy crazy – or what??
I mean – oil prices have been hitting records.

By this time next year, oil will have dropped well below $100 a barrel.  Possibly as low as $80.  In the following year it will likely sag even lower.  Why?    Because even though oil is a finite resource, the oil price escalation is a classic example of a speculative bubble – destined to burst.  What’s more, the oil and energy fields – perhaps more than any other fields – have been characterized by boom and bust cycles for more than a century.

The potential impacts for responsible energy use and the environment are calamitous.  Not only will people who predict $200-plus oil be viewed as kids who cry "Wolf!", a collapse in oil prices will also dramatically curtail research and development into alternatives much as happened in the 1980s.

Dear Reverend Dobson,

I was wondering if you could help me out – seeing as how you are a fine, upstanding minister who knows exactly what is and what isn’t Christian.  You see, I’m horny and a little bit blah.  Do you think you could find me a meth-snortin’ male hooker to relieve the tension?

The results are still not in from Lake County, Indiana, but they hardly matter.  Whether Hillary Clinton wins Indiana by 2% or 1% or 1/2% or even if Obama squeaks out a victory it changes nothing.  Clinton has clearly lost the nomination tonight.  For her to have continued she needed a big win in Indiana and a close call in North Carolina.  Instead, it was the exact opposite.

It's time for Al Gore and John Edwards to endorse Obama.  We really do not need to have additional primaries where Obama may lose and where media pundits will keep blathering about working class white voters.  It is time for Hillary to concede.

I recently completed a bicycle tour from the Georgia coast through southwest Louisiana to west Texas.  For years I have looked forward to cycling through the marshlands of coastal Louisiana, a remote region of unique beauty and Cajun culture.  This is the story of Cameron, Louisiana.

What I saw stunned me.  I had long known of our nation's failure to address the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  The impacts of Hurricane Rita were just as severe and remain largely ignored two and a half years later.

Crossposted at MyDD

The mainstream media is having a field day with the recorded sermons of Rev.
Jeremiah Wright, recently-retired pastor at Barack Obama's Trinity United Church of Christ.  Right-wingers and not-so right-wingers are screaming that Obama denounce his longtime spiritual advisor for saying, "God damn America" in a sermon.

Another opportunity for Barack Obama –
Another opportunity squandered.

At the State of the Union Address on Monday night, Obama had the chance to be gracious to Hillary Clinton.  Instead, he snubbed her with a scowl.  Like a petulant, grudge-bearing youngster, Obama turned his back on Hillary rather than reach out for the perfunctory handshake.  Hillary, on the other hand, was reaching to shake Edward Kennedy’s hand with a smile – even though she probably would have preferred a dagger.  You have to do that in politics.

Check out these latest results from the Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll. Hillary is surging! That's nearly where she was at after New Hampshire, and the Florida bump hasn't even happened yet. This bodes very well for Feb 5.

I will vote for the Democratic nominee this November.
Whoever it is - Clinton, Edwards, or Obama.
To do otherwise would be insane.
To threaten to withhold my vote is selfish.

I don't know about you, but I want to see the Republicans out of the White House.  I would prefer that my candidate be the nominee, but if he is not then I would have no difficulty voting for either of the other two Democratic candidates.  That's how the Democratic Party works.  We air our dirty laundry during primary season, but then we put on the asbestos underwear for the general.

We call on Senator Barack Obama to reject cordially, but in the clearest language the recent endorsement that his campaign has received from Kirbyjon Caldwell, pastor of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Texas.  Mr. Caldwell is a proponent of "Metanoia Ministries" – a dangerous program that claims to convert gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people to heterosexuality within a so-called Christian framework.

UPDATE - In the past 24 hours, Caldwell and/or Windsor Village have removed the Metanoia link.  Hmmmmm.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is one hip chick.

To Whom It May Concern:

As representatives of Hillary Clinton supporters from the unreconstructed racists’ community and the African American community, we are issuing a statement together for the first time. Our letter addresses the recent issue of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo saying "Shuck and Jive" during a radio interview.  In the midst of division, we hope and believe that this is a moment to bring together communities that have been divided for far too long.

The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll is considered the "Gold Standard" by pollsters and political junkies alike.  In 2004, the Iowa Poll was the only poll to get the top four Democratic candidates in the correct order – Kerry, Edwards, Dean, and Gephardt.  

Just before the ball dropped in Times Square, the Des Moines Register released its final Iowa Poll for the 2008 Iowa Democratic caucuses.   It showed Barack Obama with 32%, Hillary Clinton with 25%, and John Edwards with 24%.   But the Iowa Poll contains three huge assumptions.  First, that 40% of the participants in the Democratic caucuses will be Independents.  Second, that 60% of the participants will be first-time caucus goers.  And third, that 17% of the caucus goers will be under 35.

A recent diaryon the just-released Insider Advantage poll in Iowa points to Edwards' gains and Obama's decline:

Clinton 30%
Edwards 29%
Obama 22%

But the REAL news is in the second question.
The responses to the second question point to the possibility of a significant Edwards victory in Iowa.

Now that Barack Obama’s poll bounce is subsiding, it seems clear that the race for the Democratic nomination is going to boil down to Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.  That leaves Obama supporters with a difficult political choice.  Who should they throw their support behind?  Clinton or Edwards?

Now, I know y’all are thinking, "Wait a minute!  Obama was LEADING in Iowa the last time I looked."  He’s not any more.  In fact, in national polls his numbers have dropped to October levels again.  Backwards momentum is not a nice thing to have two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.