Happy President's Day ...

I greatly admire both Lincoln and Washington, as well as all of the most illustrious members of the pantheon of dead Presidents.

Now, back to politics. Here are some items for possible discussion.

Alabama: According to DAILY KOS, a recent Mobile Register Poll showed the following results in relation to the upcoming 2006 gubernatorial race in Alabama

Bob Riley (R-incumbent) 35
Lucy Baxley (D) 39 Lt. Governor/Ex State Treasurer

Roy Moore (R) 38 Ex-Supreme Court Justice and Right Wing Religious Activist
Lucy Baxley (D) 44

Riley (R) 43 (46)
Don Seigelman (D) 34 (36) Ex-Governor/Lt. Governor
* Numbers in parentheses are from previous poll.

Moore (R) 44 (40)
Seigelman (D) 34 (39)

What this poll shows is that Baxley does better against Riley and Moore than does Seigelman. She actually leads against both, at least at this early stage.

Virginia: Courtesy of the Washington Post and Politics1, State Senator Russell Potts (R) has hired consultants and is apparently gearing up to imminently jump into this year's gubernatorial race -- as an Independent. This could well help presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee Lt. Governor Tim Kaine against the presumptive Republican nominee Jerry Kilgore, who recently decided to step down as Attorney General to campaign full time. Senator Russell Potts is a symbol of the fracturing of the state Republican Party. He is among 19 Republican delegates and 15 Republican Senators on whom Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform and also the Virginia Club for Growth have declared war. Their sin? They all collaborated, to a greater or lesser degree, with Governor Warner's efforts to bring the state's finances into long-term balance.

Illinois -- Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has stated that Freshman Illinois Congresswoman Melissa Bean, who defeated Phil Crane, may be difficult to defeat. Hastert cites the powers of incumbency. District voter registration tilts Republican, so this is a somewhat surprising statement. Perhaps Hastert is simply lowering expectations. However, it doesn't look like Replublicans have come up with a good candidate yet to run against Bean, who is a moderate and not a liberal.

On another issue, did you read yesterday's Washington Post article focusing on Howard Dean and whether Ultra-Liberal and Left-Wing Blogosphere Deaniac activists may pull the Democratic Party still further Left? The article quoted a number of Democratic Party office holders and operatives (usually anonymously) who said that Blogosphere activism and fundraising comes at a price. The price, they say, is possible alienation of swing voters.

DEM - The Online Magazine for Democrats, is having its concept cover review session over on The New Democrat today. Go check it out and drop your two cents in!

"quasi-necrophiliac crush", huh? I LOVE that!

Thanks for the link. I had fun putting all of that together, believe it or not.

And the world loves you back, Sheila ... it's all great reading. Thanks for the effort in putting it all together.

I'll get to the rest of the commentary at some point in the day. The lesson here is that redheads get priority, though.

;-)

Max -- Thanks. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring it up. I guess my computer must not have enough "juice." However, I would like to share your BIO with everybody

"Max Burns is a 17-year-old moderate Democrat with the belief that the Democratic Party must be pulled back to the center if it ever hopes to take back the midwest and the south. This requires making some hard choices and admitting we've been defeated for four straight years in Congressional and Presidential elections. Together we can bring the Democratic Party back to its noble roots as the party of Jefferson and Jackson. With teamwork, the Democratic Party can again become a tool to help the people."

This a great BIO. I agree with you that we need to make inroads in the South, become more competitive in border states, and make an all-out push in states like Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The results in the last elections also show us that we have work to do in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The margin of victory was too narrow for comfort. As I have been saying, we Democrats need a stronger defense/foreign policy posture, even as we must neutralize hot button social issues. I hope there are a lot more 17-year-olds like you. Again, thanks for the hyperlink.

Greg -- I have been reading through the Sheila O'Malley materials for which you have given us a hyperlink. Whether she is guilty of a necrophiliac crush or not, Sheila deserves praise. They are great! We have been lucky to have been blessed with such inspired leadership at our founding and at other critical times in our history.

Greg -- I have been reading through the Sheila O'Malley materials for which you have given us a hyperlink. Whether she is guilty of a necrophiliac crush or not, Sheila deserves praise. They are great! We have been lucky to have been blessed with such inspired leadership at our founding and at other critical times in our history.

Scoop:

Indeed, I am guilty of the necrophiliac crush. But I'm okay with that.

Thanks for the praise. I really do enjoy thinking about these men, and reading their words. It's nice to share them. Glad you liked them.

i have some stuff up for President's Day as well as some great jon stewart material.

so i am now a trusted user on dk