The email was simple, elegant, and damn near perfect.  It made me remember that we are still on track and steady focused on the goal - no matter how sloppy, frustrating, and fearful Daily Kos gets in the meantime.  It made me that much more confident.

I want to thank you for everything you have done to take us this far -- farther than anyone predicted, expected, or even believed possible.

And I want to remind you that you will make all the difference in the epic challenge ahead.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

Full email after the break.

Dear Friends,

As we chew our lips and grind our teeth in anticipation of another set of primary results, maybe you would like to join me in a bit of reflection on this glorious Tuesday morning.  I am old enough to really appreciate the incredible blessings of internet publishing.  It was not long ago that it was actually impossible for me to share my thoughts with you like this. We were at the mercy of the traditional media for a very long time.  Now the bonds are broken.

I consider "blogging" to be a form of "publishing", and I want to know your story.  How, when, and why did you first start putting yourself out there for all to see?  What are some of your favorite memories when it comes to blogging and/or publishing?   Where do we go from here?

Meet me after the break for my own personal self-publishing revolution diary, then give us yours in the comments.  Thanks.

Whoa.  Forget the Hannah Montana pics, those are the most boring part of the magazine.

Get the new Vanity Fair for a truly amazing photograph of Bobby Kennedy riding with Deacon Jones.  

Then read all about Daily Kos in James Wolcott's article.

This is my favorite part.  A quite accurate portrait of our beloved watering hole. I'm nearly done with this diary, so it's almost time for me to finish my laundry.

At Daily Kos, a tempo of urgency prevails.  Its thermostat is set to the heat of the moment; its readers and posters believe in taking action and leaping into the breach, even if it means postponing a trip to the kitchen or retrieving wash from the dryer.

The article focuses on the rift between the Clinton and Obama camps, and if you get offended by really harsh analysis of Hillary's campaign from a mainstream magazine, you won't want to click over and meet me after the break.

I just happened to be in Orlando at my sister's house this morning, just in time to spend Sunday morning with this masterpiece by Scott Maxwell in the Orlando Sentinel:

John McCain obviously doesn't love Jesus enough.

You can tell just by looking at his lapel -- where there's no miniature replica of our Lord and Savior.

Lapels, after all, are where good Americans display things they truly care about.

That's the message being drilled home by attack dogs in the political arena with the help of the lap dogs in the media.

Only it's not McCain they're attacking. It's Barack Obama -- and the American-flag pin that's sometimes missing from his lapel.

Welcome to Democracy in America, where you might not wear your heart on your sleeve, but you'd darn sure better wear a tiny metallic flag on your sport coat.

Our country is at war. The economy's a mess.

And we're a nation consumed with fashion accessories.

After a chaotic day of outrage over the Repug idiots threatening to overshadow the glow from the Edwards endorsement, I found sweet refuge in a fun little story by Roger Simon on Politico.

In the past few weeks, it has become clear to me that Obama intends to win it. In West Virginia, he shot some pool at a billiards hall, and when he sank a ball on the break and then pocketed two more, he said, "That’s a sign of a misspent youth."

While Obama was campaigning in Oregon this week, a local reporter asked him: "If you had a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?"

Obama replied that if he were forced to get a tattoo, "I suppose I’d have to have Michelle’s name tattooed somewhere very discreet."

My offended sensibilities went exponential last night.  Terry McAullife (whoa, the spellcheck wants to change his name to "nullifies"!) promised us "The Best Speech Ever."  We was robbed.

Thank God for Wonkette's live blog of the fraud.  I was about to ask for my money back.

Mary Lou Retton also hails from the fair state of West Virginia. And if Hillary Clinton were an athlete, she would be Mary Lou Retton in a fetching flag-themed leotard. What does Mary Lou Clinton have to say to the voters of West Virginia? Click the clicky and find out!

If you have ever visited my blog, you already know that I am deeply entrenched in a mythological obsession.  Superheroes, from both Marvel and DC Comics, with a dash of Hellboy for spice.  See if this quote from one of my Upper Deck articles reminds you of Barack Obama (momentarily sullen from the results of West Virginia), and meet me after the break for power-packed pics and rambling synchronicities.

Then, something truly moving occurred. Tens of thousands of marine animals swam slowly, in formation, toward their sullen commander. They saluted him from the heart, telling him in their own special way that they follow him out of love, not because of force.

I am typing this in the box, wondering if I will click Publish when I am done. The twists and turns of life are trying to tie me in knots, while I keep myself focused on letting go and refusing to be made into rope.

One of our best friends is having brain surgery in one hour.  

After Indiana, yes THAT Indiana, I started to pinch myself.  Could America finally be getting its intelligence back?  Could we actually see an election decided by issues instead of smears?  Could this really be the revolution we have been looking for?

Now this.  Evangelicals for Obama, for unity, for focusing on the issues.

From CNN.

A group of influential Christian leaders are declaring they are tired of divisive politics, tired of watching fights over some issues trump all the good they could be doing.

Good morning friends, it's a great day to be an American.

We just stopped in for lunch, then we are back out into the intense Miami sunshine to register more voters.  Here is a taste of the Vote For Change Kickoff packet, meet me after the break for pics!

Vote for Change is a national voter registration effort.  We are looking to register new voters, re-register voters who have moved, and talk to voters who do not typically vote but wish to become engaged in the political process.  On May 10, over 100 cities across the country will kickoff a 6-month campaign to expand participation in the democratic process.

Over the past year, Barack Obama has brought his message of change to every corner of this country, and the American people have responded in a way few thought possible. We've seen unprecedented voter turnout in state after state among Americans of all races, religions, and walks of life.

The sigh of relief turned into a rather giddy celebration as soon as the Indiana results were in.  Now I am ready to focus on the General Election.  Here in Miami, with nearly 6 million potential voters in one place, I will be talking about Barack Obama with quite a few people who really don't know him at all.

What should I tell them?  

I posted a short sweet biography on my blog yesterday as part of the Thursday Thirteen game that I play with a bunch of (fairly repuggish) stay-at-home moms.  I think that is the way I will bridge the gap for the unaware in person as well, but I am very open to suggestions.  More thoughts after the break.

Fair warning, there is some serious bashing in this article from the NY Daily News.

You can choose your own highlight for bold type from this, I can't decide:

Hillary wants desperately to be the Democratic populist, even as she plays to the same gullible audience that elected George W. Bush twice, saying she is so tough that she will blow Iran to smithereens. And of course she will save the working class with a plan at the gas pumps that ought to come with a laugh track. This all happens at the end of a campaign in which she has constantly accused Obama of being the one who is all rhetoric and no solutions.

She stays in the race now for the worst possible reasons, hoping that there is some new bogeyman like Wright around the corner and Obama will somehow break down in the stretch like a fragile racehorse.

It is the Clinton version of the politics of hope, and it all goes on while Obama runs the closest possible thing we have seen in 40 years to the campaign Robert F. Kennedy was never allowed to finish in 1968.

What a wonderful morning.  It was the kind of night that I will remember for the rest of my life.  My favorite moments:

1. Chris Matthews looked rough.  It was obvious that his conscience was finally catching up.  He said earlier in the week that the archaic media's Pastor Flap was Obama's "Iraq".  That's gotta hurt in hindsight when you see yourself stoop that low on tape, especially when you are proven wrong by Indiana!  His face was pale, dried up, and deflated.  He kept reading Daily Kos on his monitor.  He used two of our memes directly during the show, and the second time he actually gave us credit on the air.

2. George Stephanopolous broke into Jeopardy (!) to announce the immediate call on North Carolina, and set the tone for the realization that we had finally won.  

3. James Carville spent the night trying to wipe the cajones off his face.

Now it's your turn.  What were your favorite moments?

(More pics after the break.)

The truly horrifying gun mailer is unacceptable to me, as an American.

If anyone can link me to telephone numbers for the remaining uncommited superdelegates, I will call each one and pledge my support to help end this national tragedy.

Beth Arnold provides a brilliant portrait of what it happening:

HuffPo Article.

And maybe she is a Republican. She's embraced some of the worst aspects of the Republican Party, including their immoral campaigning. It's politics after all, you say.

Shame on you if you do! Politics may be politics, but this is part of the reason our country is in the mess it's in right now. We should NOT expect a lack of integrity from our leaders.  We should expect them to measure up to what the U.S. was and is meant to be. We should expect them to lift us up with their example -- not to drag us into the muck of their hypocrisy, cynicism, and what is ultimately disrespect for us. Want another George W. Bush? Hillary is looking more like him every day.

There is a long fascinating look at the disease currently infecting the traditional media, by Glenn Greenwald on Salon this morning.

Article.

That's the only job of the modern "journalist" as they see it: to repeat whatever trash is whispered in their ears by political operatives. If right-wing strategists or opposition campaigns are chattering about some lowly attack, they have no choice but to repeat it -- and not just repeat it, but repeat it endlessly, have it dominate their political "reporting." After all, as Gibson says: "That's an issue that's being much debated now." Of course, the only reason those sideshows are "being much debated now" is because Gibson and his friends never stop talking about them, but that's the endless self-referential loop that fuels their destruction of our political culture.

Fair warning, Edwidge Danticat serves it straight up.  Her counterpoint arguement is raw and wriggling.  Make sure you are sitting down, things get hot in Miami.

Article

My favorite quotes:

I am supporting him because the prospect of my daughter’s grandchildren having to show up for that hundredth year in Iraq terrifies me. At least Obama had the sense to oppose the war even when doing so risked getting painted by the unpatriotic brush.

I am supporting him because, frankly, the win-at-all-cost mentality of the other side disgusts me. I am a feminist who is bothered by the double-entendre of the 3 a.m. phone call, which leaves hanging in the air the not so subliminal suggestion that one has a more experienced spouse who might also answer in the dead of night should terrorists attack. To use fear-mongering to win a primary suggests to me that it might erode a Presidency, and we have had enough of that.

As an educator, a person who works with young people, and who works with words, I am also heartened to see a large number of young men and women find their own political voice in a way that they haven’t in a very long time.

I will not spoil the movie except to say that Robert Downey Jr. freaking NAILED it, and Terence Howard gives a wink and a nod toward the sequel - as War Machine!

How does Iron Man relate to the battle for the soul of the democratic party, and the future of America?  

Check it out.  In my recent top recommended diary (thanks guys!) about Hillary's fantasy, one of the most amazing comments of the cycle popped up three days later:

This is institutional war in a sense, as institutions must continually redefine themselves or lose their accrued status and strength. From what I see, the Democratic Party has been losing power for three decades. That these behaviors exhibit themselves and can be scrutinized is to our great advantage: we don't need the adopted behavior (campaign and electoral) of the other party. We need something much better and effective.

In warfare, new technology generally always wins; old technology wins only when there are specific needs in specific situations. That is the crux of this situation at present.

Obama has a vision; HRC has old tech and Republican behaviors.

Wow.  If these guys are including this much honesty in an article, maybe the tide really has turned.

Hillary's Fantasy World.

What’s wrong with this picture?

First, Clinton does not lead Obama in the popular vote. It is a fantasy.

Second, the people she most needs to convince that this fantasy is true are the people least likely to believe it.

Let’s first deal with Clinton’s fantasy lead in the popular vote.

"I’m very proud that as of today, I have received more votes by the people who have voted than anyone else," Clinton said the day after her victory in the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.

But has she really? No. Not really. Not unless you throw out the existing rules of the Democratic Party and invent a new set of Hillary Rules.

Mad props to Roger Simon for shaving the eye-wool that the Clinton campaign is trying to pull.