Admittedly, a rally and a fundraiser are two totally different events. On the one hand is the boilerplate inspirational speech for the masses; on the other, the gratitude-laced red-meat appeal to the contributors. One is much more public than the other.

That said, I love these things – I attended the Obama rally yesterday and a high-end Clinton fund-raiser this morning. I’ve given a good amount so far to both campaigns.

I just want a Democrat in the White House. My impressions of each campaign and their event followed.

Hey there:

Back in Feb...*before* Super Tuesday, I predicted that Montana would be in the thick of things and that even though it was one of the states that don't matter, we would be making a bigger splash than usual this primary season.

You all scoffed then.

As I've said before, I'm a veteran Dem, in the sense that I've voted for pathetic losers most of my life. Nice, smart, but pathetic (Mondale, Dukakis) and losers (William Jefferson Clinton, in that he won the office but not the party. Gary Hart, who had a Clinton pants problem).

I have waited all my adult life for a transcendent Democratic candidate who could also win the elections.

But as Timothy Egan so succinctly states here, there is an almost innate Party talent to sink ourselves.

You can read the full article here

The thinking goes like this:

Why don't I take my ball and go home???

My first memory of any news event was being physically pushed in front of a TV at the age of 8 to watch Richard Nixon's resignation speech. Mom, who had voted for Tricky Dick both times, was in tears. And she never voted Republican again.

Politics brings out passions in people. Maturity is being able to accept that people have passions. Follow, if you will, below the fold.

Check it out:

http://news.yahoo.com/...

I don't know who edits the headlines at Yahoo, but they certainly get to the heart of the matter:

"Bush vetoes kids health insurance bill"

UPDATE/QUESTION: Sorry for the ignorance on my part after 2 years here...what's a concern troll? I'm being labelled below as one and just want to know what it is.

Please please hack away at me!

I think Kos' diary could have been a nice display of the typical Wingnut temperament. But I have to take exception, based on some ethical concerns. I teach this stuff, but am by no means an expert.

Please be patient with a tiny Ethics 101 lesson and then feel free to flame away.

Sad, but not surprising news today:

http://www.missoulian.com/...

To understand what's going on here, follow me for a short non-native's tour of my state. This is the second somewhat promising candidate to turn down this race. The other, pro-gun guy Bill Kennedy, dropped out due to health reasons. And in the last election, the Dem congress candidate got her butt whooped.

I'm a lucky guy in that I'm fairly young (42) and things are good.

Because things are good, I can give cash to causes I care about, including political campaigns. My giving is a fairly recent habit, starting with Jon Tester here on dKos back in late 2005, when no one in the msm was giving him a chance. It was through dKos that I found candidates to give to and have not stopped giving.

Until now.

This interests me for a couple of reasons:

http://abcnews.go.com/...

First, because of my somewhat cynical yet hardly implausible theory that people who have significant funds tend to vote with their cash - either to 'stay the course' or to change things NOW.

So, I'm sure this has been diaried about but has there been a poll yet?

It's a form letter...

God Almighty, he couldn't even have a staffer write something up that sounded like it comes for a real person. It's talking points that you can read on his site, or hear from his office staff.

I just got off the phone with Deb Franzen, in Tester's office. I told her how disappointed I was - she said "Jon couldn't vote for cutting funding - he's just as much against this war as you are. But he wants to bring these people back alive"

I just find that so much bs, Kos. How do you continue to fight for  the reasoning of a candidate who voted the same way Burns would? Such a damn disappointment, especially for someone like me, who put heart, soul and cash into a guy who voted Nay on the Feingold amendment...just like Burns.

It was a chicken and egg thing. I got excited about Jon Tester because of DKos, and I get excited about dKos because of Jon Tester.

I was one of the first donors in the first $10K fundraising effort for Tester on ActBlue.

And then this:

http://www.missoulian.com/...

Hey:

This says he's been unconscious for awhile before found:

http://www.cnn.com/...

Whether or not Falwell is now facing his own judgment, you may remember some of his greatest hits in judging others:

This is a nice piece by Tom Brokaw who does a nice piece that shows the traditional media catching up to Kossacks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

If this has been diaried already, my apologies. Just let me know and I'll remove immediately.

Hey all, check out a remarkably sober analysis of L'affaire Foley here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

and consider the last paragraph, which essentially nails the potential downside for those of us liberal who might go too far on the Schadenfreud...(Sp?)

Here's the kind of democracy we're setting up in Iraq:

http://www.nytimes.com/...

The incredible part of the piece is that some of the laws being used against Iraqi journalists were taken directly from Saddam's anti-journalist legislation.