In an amazing turn of events MSM just served up a portion of the truth. I'm surprised. I'm used to the excuses and self laudatory attitide coupled with dismissing most of the country but telling the truth? Allowing it on TV?

Who'd a thunk it? But they did, today, on NBC's This Week when they released and discussed the results of their latest survey. Would America elect an African American, a woman or a 72 yr old? Results on the flip plus a bonus review of grassroots organizing in action...

Let's get one thing on the table. Elections are decided by people talking to people. The most trusted source of information are people we talk to, more than once, over a period of time. Each of us has a circle that includes family, friends, people we work with and so forth.

Allow me to tell you about one of my circles on the flip

The following story is unbelievable if it weren't so real. It's a story that if every voter were to see they would be less likely to vote Republican ever again. Imagine the following scenario: A medical relief organization sets up shop in middle America offering free services for those who cannot afford health care or if they have insurance, the high deductible. Imagine if hundreds and hundreds of people came and waited overnight for just a chance to see a doctor or a dentist. Don't imagine. It's happening. Details on the flip

I know it's all about the national campaign, the primaries and states named Texas and Ohio...and that's all good...but we have a Senate to win back (obviously it is not really ours is it Joe?) and one of the key opportunities is in Maine. Some pundits and bloggers have said that Susan Collins is fairly moderate, not too awful and that her challenger Congressman Tom Allen faces an uphill fight. That's not what Bill from C&J says but others. Let's put at least half of that to rest shall we? Allow me to share a video...

For years now we've been told the evangelical community is the Republican right wing base. In lock step and responding to their ministers who have been fed talking points from the central Repiblican machine. A long list of their leadership-Robertson, Falwell, Dotson Lamb and many more all supported the Republican party.

The images of the super churches full of uptight sheeple is  repelling to many progressives. These are the people we railed against for being tricked by Bushco, for walking blindly off the cliff and delivering their sons and daughters to the armed services. Well, guess what's being overlooked?

Hillary's rant today yesterday was planned and staged. She got worked up but I think it's only a prelude. Watch over the next 2-3 days and see if if anti Obama ads not associated with her campaign suddenly appear. What a change from the end of the debate recently.

What a shame. She had the opportunity to close this chapter gracefully and become a leader in the Senate, the heir to Teddy Kennedy. What really bothers me about this off target attack is the lasting damage it can do..on the flip

OK. Caveat. I'm a bit of a poll nut and any poll that has a Margin of Error greater than 4.2% gets treated with suspicion by me. Technically, any poll that has an MoE greater than 5% is supposed to be called a survey, not a poll. A poll that has an MoE of 3.5% or less gets more attention from me anyway.

The latest poll from Texas is by Decision Analyst which appears to be a Texas based firm. The MoE is 3% so that's a plus. The results..well, flip it

According to MSNBC Bill Clinton said

"If she wins in Texas and Ohio, she'll be the nominee. If she doesn't, I don't think she can be. It's all on you."

. Found the quote

Think about that. It certainly sets the stage for defeat. The MSNBC newsperson has mentioned it several times and is drawing attention to his statement. But more on the flip

It's the calendar stupid. It's the fact they are joined at the hip (when it's hurting them). They need Texas and Ohio to vote now. Three weeks is a long time. Three weeks of their former friends in the media beating them up. Three weeks of Obama's superior campaign chipping away. Let's get specific on the flip.

Crossposted at Turn Maine Blue

Turnout is the key to winning elections. We know that. We've all heard that Dems are turning out more than Repubs in all these states but when you're on the ground and seeing it happen, it's amazing, simply amazing. If you've never been at a state party HQ receiving the numbers as they come in, it's like nothing else. Come along and I'll give you a few samples.

Crossposted at Turn Maine Blue

Let's take a nice break from the candidate wars and come travel with me as I take you inside a Congressional tour. A little background. Washington County is one of Maine's 16 counties. Washington is way up on the coast, a good 6-7 hour drive from Boston. It's the real deal. I helped organize an eco-devo tour (a better term is community sustainable enterprises) for both of Maine's Congressmen: Tom Allen & Mike Michaud. It was quite a trip, come on along.

Let's take a nice break from the candidate wars and come travel with me as I take you inside a Congressional tour. A little background. Washington County is one of Maine's 16 counties. Washington is way up on the coast, a good 6-7 hour drive from Boston. It's the real deal. I organized an eco-devo tour (a better term is community sustainable enterprises) for both of Maine's Congressmen: Tom Allen & Mike Michaud. It was quite a trip, come on along.

I have lots to do today,  blah blah BUT a couple of notes. The Clinton campaign is in big trouble in NH and here's why. Her story line of Experience and Working for Change comes out like this...'You can trust her because she has years of experience working for change'...and here's the problem.

It's the 'years of experience' which is running totally counter to the general public mood which is, the last thing we need is years of anything. The Bush years have taken a toll and every time they use that phrase they drive voters away. More on the flip

There will be a ton of analysis before this is all over. I'm a campaign veteran so that qualifies me. Call it self qualification. I'm just going to call it as I see it and maybe post this before I go to bed, maybe not.

First, if turnout does indeed hit 200,000 (or anywhere close) We All Win. No matter who you support, that is good news for the Democratic Party. Turnout was 120,000 just four years ago in a tight contest. Caucus attendees are the pool that become the volunteers. Volunteers for leg campaigns, Congressional campaigns, etc. Follow on the flip pls

Last night in Iowa Obama was asked an important question. an important question Please watch because his answer to that question told me a lot. More on the flip

First, I'm not involved in the pie wars. I don't have a favorite (well, Gore but that's not likely) so I'm still deciding and I'm really undecided. I'm a 'spouse candidate' (I like the spouses and would go for Elizabeth Edwards) and I'm torn. One day Obama, one day Edwards, half a day for Hillary but I'm not angsting over it. It's far worse on the other side where they are longing for a 'Real Live Winning candidate' and instead are left with the wandering wannabees.

However, Iowa looks like it won't solve much. No matter who comes in first, there may not be much of a gap. So what happens next? Follow on the flip please

We all have ideas, theories, thoughts and suggestions (above all suggestions) on how the Democrats can win. We all know that a real ground game such as 'the 50 state strategy' is important. We know TV ads are still part of the equation but TV is no longer the dominant medium it once was. Blogging is part of educating ourselves and it's certainly an accountability tool but it's not always the ideal outreach tool. What works best? Follow along please

I know it's Thanksgiving week and I should have peaceful, progressive thoughts but I don't. There are things going on that just get to me. The war is the obvious drum beat and traditional media repeating the 'things are improving in Iraq' BS drives me crazy. There is only one reason there is a dip in the violence and that is that Al-Sadr declared a umilateral ceasefire in late August and that is the difference. That's it, not the so-called surge, not the effectiveness of our troops and certainly not Bush.

There are big and little things that get to me. Follow along for stories and letters that get to me and have me wondering. Are the campaigns talking about these and not getting play in the traditional media or are they missing it? There's a thread here, maybe I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there.