A radio interview from this week's "This American Life" brings us back to the forgotten Dream Act, which failed in 2007. Listen to it. The 20 minute interview with Martha, who lives in immigration limbo, is worth more than 20 encylopedias.

she's exactly the kind of kid everyone roots for. She grew up in a poor, mostly immigrant neighborhood in East Los Angeles, where most people didn't graduate from high school, and nobody talked about college. But Martha got into UCLA. She couldn't believe it: UCLA.

http://www.newamerica.net/...

The interview was originally aired in 2007, but was revived this week. Just as the logic behind the Dream Act was compelling, so too is Martha's voice.

So why post this diary now? It doesn't have anything to do with the Obama-Clinton race that has absorbed our attention. But maybe it's a reminder that politics should also be about people like Martha.

Watching Richardson's uplifting endorsement speech was a pleasant surprise. There's more here than just a former presidential candidate putting his weight behind a fellow candidate. And contrary to the commentary of other bloggers on this site, the timing is good. This endorsement and his speech will have resonance.

Read on for the detail, but here's the punch line:

1. Richardson joins Obama's discussion on race by highlighting the ugly anti-Hispanic overtone of the current debate on immigration.

2. From the vantage point of an experienced foreign policy hand, he endorses Obama's qualifications and ties it to judgment on the Iraq war.

3. He tells us that it's time for the Democrats to get to closure on this nomination and to focus on John McCain.

The entire national discussion has gotten so far off track from what really matters: the war, the economy, and the absolute nightmare of these past 8 years. This speech was a wake-up call.

Obama is doing well in what were once "untouchable" Republican districts that have swung Democratic. The punch line is that an Obama nomination would be a boon to Democratic congressional candidates in competitive races.

On November 4, we'll be talking about both the president AND the congress that will dispose of the president's program. Congressional elections ALWAYS work on the 50 state strategy.