No you didn't misread that. A Global Strat Group Poll released a couple hours ago has McCain and Obama in a statistical tie  in Alaska.

I had trouble deciding whether or not to even write this because I don't want to give this the free coverage the group wants it to get, but the McCain campaign must denounce this or suffer the consequences of being associated with it.

The conservative swift boaters are at it again. The National Campaign Fund sent out an email to supporters today titled "Was Barack Obama Muslim?" in an attempt to promote a bigoted smear ad they produced about a week ago and released on the internet. The email was authored by Bruce Hawkins of the National Campaign Fund and ExposeObama.com. What is shocking the the ties they have to the McCain campaign. The National Campaign Fund operates the site HelpJohnMcCain.com, featuring McCain's name, pictures, and portals to donate to his campaign. What is more unconscionable that this ad is that John McCain allows them to sport his brand in their spreading of hate.

Even if you don't read to the bottowm, please rec this diary and take the time to contact the McCain campaign and call on them to 1) denounce the ad, email, and website and 2) force the National Campaign Fund to remove McCain's picture and name from their website. The McCain Campaign MUST do something about this.

I know I don't need to tell anyone on here that O'Reilly is as conservative as partisan hacks come, but he continually gets away with misleading his viewers by bullying his guests into saying he's an Independent. I know that many a guest representing the left reads this site, so here's some unequivocal evidence to throw in his face of his own bias. Now he has joined the ranks of contributors to the magazine that has, in its own proclamation, been "leading the conservative movement since 1944".

The NYT today ran a large op-ed titled What Went Wrong? listing an array of reasons why Hillary failed. Likewise, every news outlet from our dear friends at FOX to the dominating posts right here at dkos have been obsessed with the question "why Hillary lost?" Not only do I find the "Hillary lost it" narrative inaccurate, but I find it strategically unwise as a frame. The "Hillary choked" frame vastly overlooks the extent to which Obama's refreshing message, extraordinary organization, and unique style won this election. Below are a few reasons why Obama won and why, regardless, the "Hillary lost it" narrative is unwise.

"What's the difference?" you ask. In reality, Obama is the nominee because of a mixture of his strengths and her weaknesses, but the language used to frame the primary results has vast implications for the fall (i.e. tax relief and tax cuts are the same, but evoke different responses). We should stop framing this how Republicans would have it – as a Clinton choke – and start recognizing it as a strong and vigorous Clinton campaign facing the most unique, appealing message and well run campaign in a long time.

I have wanted to write this for a while and I hope that everyone who vilifies Hillary for her vote and praises Barack for his early opposition will read this.

This diary is about what Hillary actually means when she says, "I voted to give President Bush the authority to use force and to put the inspectors back into Iraq and is the President who has misused that authority." It is easy to look back and demonize all of the people who were at all associated with the Iraq War and the events leading up to it. Americans in general and Democrats in particular, however, have been surprisingly myopic in their assessment of Hillary Clinton's vote for authorizing the use of force in Iraq. But before you malign her for her vote, it might be useful to carefully consider what led to it. When she says she voted to give Bush the authority to go in and he misused it, it is not fancy political footwork. It's actually true. This is not a defense of the Iraq War. We all know what a mistake it is and was. This is an explanation of reasoning behind Hillary's vote.

Read the diary and if you want to rip my head off, you're welcome to do so in the comments. And you can go ahead and Troll Rate me immediately, but this diary is only trying to further the debate about the war and the resolution authorizing the use of force.