Things I learned today in Missoula, Montana:

1. Obama wants to learn to flyfish.

2. Obama likes to say "Missoula", because it has too many vowels, just like "Obama".

3. Thousands of Missoulians are willing to stand in line starting well before the 8AM opening doors on a cold morning with snow flurries to see Obama speak. A few thousand are even willing to watch on a video screen outside since they were a little late lining up.

I was just informed that "Interestingly, Obama didn't coin the phrase "Yes, We Can" or "Sí se puede." Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta coined the phrase in 1972, and the United Farm Workers defended it as their intellectual property when AeroMexico applied for trademark protection of the phrase."

http://tetongravity.com/...

The worst part, however, is below the fold.

Less than twelve hours after John Edwards places well behind Obama, his campaign is rolling out the specious arguments. Follow me below the fold for a lesson in what not to do.

Should this be in an open thread? Whatever, consider this the victory thread.

Open in another window, and click play: A Damn Important Song

Then follow me below the fold.

I don't care who you support, if you are reading this, we are probably on the same side. Am I the only one who can't wait for the primaries to be over, so we can be on the same team again?

Musical interlude below the fold.

I just finished the final class of my college career (well, the undergrad part, anyways), called Literature, Media and the Public Sphere. We started with Jurgen Habermas' seminal work, "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere," and continued on reading other theorists and even a little bit of literature where we attempted to apply this theory.

Anyways, here is my last paper for the class. I sure wouldn't mind any critiques or constructive criticism before I turn it in on Wednesday.

Rob (the very cool professor who taught the class), if you are reading this, I hope you don't mind me trolling for opinions. I guess if you are, you at least know what username I have on DailyKos, now (I gave a presentation to the class on political blogs and the way we self-mediate).

The full deal below the fold...and thanks ahead of time if you get through it.

Today, with less than a month to go, the Hillary campaign will finally wheel out the huge, smoking cannon it has been sitting on for months.

The shocking details that will fundamentally alter the shape of the Democratic Primary are below the fold.

If your number one candidate gets off to a shaky start in the first four states, will you switch for Super Tuesday?

more below the fold....

I can't believe nobody has diaried this one yet. There is a very interesting story by Andrew Sullivan in the December issue of The Atlantic Monthly.

[Full Article]

Sullivan makes an interesting case, specifically about how Obama is guilty of the many things his primary opponents and their supporters charge him with: he is inexperienced, he is not a spectacular campaigner, and he hasn't spent that much time in Washington.

So, I got a little fired up the other day and sent the Obama campaign an email. I'm not going to post it - I'm not proud of it. It basically said they will not get another penny from me unless they figure out a way to handle it, and I am pretty sure I included a "WHAT THE FUCK" at least twice, possibly three times.

I got a response today, and I am going to post the whole thing below the fold.

There is so much talk about electability, it's just that - talk. We don't really know what will happen this winter and spring, but I think most of us have a pretty good idea who we support at this point.

I hang around at a couple of other websites, which aren't necessary political. One of them is a skiing website, and I recently started a thread there in the off topic forum about Obama.

Is it inevitable? If Hillary wins the primary, and wins the general, and then gets reelected, will the pendulum swing far enough that the only realistic candidate the next time around will be Jeb Bush?