The constant repetition of the close national polls numbers presented by Rasmussen and Gallup seem to be making a few folks here nervous. However, if you look state by state you see numbers that should make any Democrat feel very pleased indeed.

(updated with the second michigan removed)

Did HRC make a crucial mistake in the Super Tuesday states by focusing on the bign ones?? Maybe yes, but likely I would say no. The reasoning below the fold.

Because our media seems incapable of grasping the overall picture in Iraq, I offer this brief update to help them gain clarity on the current situation in Iraq.

After five years, 4,000+ US dead , 40,000+ US casualties, and at least 500,000 Iraqi dead and countless wounded – not to mention several million displaced – the current situation is described below the fold. Each individual story is well known, and well documented, but the cumulative implication seems to have escaped the various experts and talking heads.

After Senator Obama’s speech, I can say that there is no doubt remaining in my heart or mind that he should be the nominee of the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, the Clinton campaign remains committed to pursuing an "any means necessary" approach to the nomination. It seems to me that it is time to begin organizing in case a march on the Democratic Convention becomes necessary. Perhaps a petition with a million signatures or so would help convince the remaining uncommitted Superdelegates to see the light. In any case, I know I will, without doubt, march at the convention if there is even a remote chance on the nomination being stolen. To whit, I offer the following pledge as a first step in preparing ourselves if the unpleasant should become necessary. Perhaps an online page can be developed to organize the signatures. Please feel free to pass around the list via email or any other method. The more the merrier. Together, we can make a difference and make change.

If Obama is set on pushing bi-partisanship and unifying the country - what about Snowe as his VP? The pros seem to be an increase in the number of independents and Republicans that would likely cross over. She would make a unity government seem persuasively real. Together, they would create an historic ticket with an African-American and a Woman. And, finally, she is a capable and respected moderate(not a Liebercrat).

The down side - she's a Republican(blech!)

The Clinton’s recent campaign and comments suggest a strategy designed to allow HRC to enter the convention – down in delegates, votes, and states and still make an argument that she should be the nominee

If you are a Republican, you have to be thinking along these lines. Your current "front runner" is fighting several campaign finance and lobbying scandals. This is particularly troubling in that he is a senator who passed a bunch of campaign finance and lobbying bills. He also suggested we continue an unpopular war for 10,000 years, bomb Iran, and make permanent a set of tax cuts he voted against in the name of straight shooting.

What next? Below the fold

Dear Senator Obama;

Senator Clinton’s attack today, suggesting that your campaign has been built on empty rhetoric and a hope the "clouds will part" and everything will be made right through magic, is deeply offensive. Please point out to senator Clinton that hundreds of thousands of citizens have volunteered millions of hours working to make our country a better place by supporting your candidacy. We have called friends, put up signs, turned up to vote and caucus, written letters, printed yard signs, marched, rallied, and a thousand other things to help change the course of our country.

As many diaries have noted here and the results of the election are making clear, Obama is running a ground game that is changing the rules of politics. How about the Republicans? Well they are in deep, deep trouble. Short version, they are doomed. Long version, below the fold.

Several posts here on DKOS have devolved into detailed policy analysis with various failings being found in the platforms of the candidate you dislike and strengths being found in the platform of the one you do like. In general, I like policy debates. In this case, they are pointless.

Below the fold explains why.

Lots of news about HRC's early exit from Wisconsin on Monday, however Obama's website lists a campaign stop in Ohio on Monday and Texas on Tuesday. Seems to me both campaigns know something we do not and I have to suspect it is not that Hillary is winning WI by 10.

Why WI really matters below the fold.

LINK http://www.barackobama.com/...

Edit: Several Posters noted he is Scheduled to be back in WI on Monday for an event in Beloit. Did not see it listed.

Christine Gregoire, Governor of Washington, has endorsed Obama and will make a speech at the Obama rally at Key Arena this morning.

Story here

I am pro Obama but will gladly vote for the Democratic nominee in November.

The news reports that HRC LENT her campaign $5 million seems profoundly unethical. Some have quipped that Hillary is now like Romney. However, Romney DONATED his money to his campaign. McCain took money from a third party - a bank - which seems moderately suspiscious, but at least he put his life on the line. Hillary is LOANING her own money that will be paid back to her from other donors - loyal Democrats who work hard to support our candidates. This is unethical, find out why below - with poll.

How Much Difference Does it Make?

With all of the Obama/Clinton/Edwards sniping, I want to stop and ask how much difference would there really be between them as President. I’ve seen little of substance from any of  them on some of the HUGE issues we are facing as a country. I am willing to be corrected, but I have read all the information from the candidates websites and here is what I am missing – beneath the fold

Here is a diary that may act as a brief respite from all the campaign news.

When is it not only reasonable but indeed ethically necessary to actively work against a government or industry? From the Civil Rights movement to the boycott of South Africa under Apartheid that has been and, given the ever growing power of companies, will continue to be a significant issue. In the case of the music industry, I think it is well past the time when anyone should have the slightest qualm about using their products without paying and, in fact, are obligated to avoid paying the companies by any means available. I lay out the argument both as a specific response to the RIAA and as an outline to the issue for other industries. It is important to remember that for many decades Apartheid and Jim Crow laws were "legal" and that attempts to have them changed were fiercely resisted by vested interests who had, of course, the law on their side.

Given all the excitement in teh world markets these days, I thought it would be a good time to focus in on the unraveling of the dominant economic model using Peak Oil as the center piece.

The resistance to the idea of peak oil is profound and comes from two, not necessarily opposed, places: Vested oil interests, a relatively small but exceptionally powerful group, and the intellectual business and economic elite who have created an economic model based on infinite growth, a larger and even more influential group than the vested oil interest. At stake is the founding myth of the modern global economy: That infinite growth of the world’s GDP is not only possible, but THE method for curing all the world’s social ills.

if you're interested in economics keep going . . .

While I'm sure most readers of KOS are very active in local politics, considering the importance of local and statewide elections, don't forget that we have an election just a few days away. Most of us have heard a lot more about the Presidential primaries than the elections that actually occur THIS year. A few things to remember - if you had forgotten - below the fold. The progressive revolution will be from the ground up!

After the Initial furor over Blackwater settled down, I thought Bush Co. would be able to smooth the whole thing over. But it looks like the Iraqis are not going to stand for this. According to the AP, it looks liek the sh*t may hit the fan on this one.