This diary is for everyone else going out of their minds waiting for the VP announcement. Barack Obama, we know you know who you are going to pick so would you be so kind as to share. We are going bonkers, insane, nutso, three fries short of a happy meal crazy. Tell us so that we can either jump for joy or swear like sailors, but just do it already!

I am not shocked or appalled that George W. Bush would attack Democrats as terrorist appeasers. I may not like his incredibly crass politicization of foreign policy, but in his world view we are terrorist appeasers. Just as in our world view he is a war criminal who has created a new generation of terrorists, along with an unprecedented level of global anti-American sentiment. So as long as he started it, let's play the who helped the Nazi's and the terrorists game.

Now many of you are thinking, Oregon votes May 20th, what is this person thinking? Well, in Oregon everyone votes by mail and ballots were mailed to voters yesterday. This morning I got my ballot and voted.

The statistic typically thrown around on Oregon political campaigns is that 40% of Oregonians vote the first day they get their ballot. Now I tend to think that this statistic is inflated to motivate organizers and volunteers, but it is not too far off the mark. In short, a lot of Oregonians will cast their ballots from their kitchen table today.

So you crazy Oregonians who vote as soon as you get your ballot, who did you vote for?

Pennsylvania-

Prior to tonight's democratic debate, progressives were worried that ABC would not conduct an honest and intelligent debate on the issues that are most important to Democrats. Tired of questions about bittergate, Rev. Wright, tired of questions about Bosniagate, tired of implications that Barack Obama is associated and agrees with the Weather Underground, tired of implications that Obama's second favorite man is Rev. Farrakhan, tired of implications that because Obama does not wear a flag lapel he is a terrorist, tired of implications that withdrawing from Iraq will cause chaos in Iraq as if there were not chaos already, tired of implications that raising capital gains taxes is an assault on the middle class, Democrats were refreshed that the ABC moderators asked objective questions about important issues.

"I'm just glad the moderators focused on the issues" said one Pennsylvania Democrat. Another thought the questions were good in general, but wished they would have asked Obama why he is a Muslim.

Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick are locked in a tense primary fight over who will have the privilege of beating Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) this November. I have heard both candidates speak and I have watched Jeff in action as Speaker of the Oregon House. At various points in the campaign I have leaned one way or another. I was extremely impressed with Jeff's ability to pass gay rights legislation with a one vote majority. When I heard Steve talk he had a fire in his voice which made me know he was eager to go to bat for progressive causes.

When I found out that Steve had called Obama a sellout and a fraud I was frustrated with him. I have been an Obama supporter since he announced his campaign, calling on Americans to rise above the politics of division, to stop blaming gays and immigrants for our problems, and to start working together for progressive change.

Even after these comments surfaced though, I was still on the fence. But then Novick said that in an ideal world he would rather vote for a former Republican who is running as an Independent than vote for fellow Democrat Jeff Merkley. That is when Steve Novick became dead to me.

In 2004 Nader got 465,650 votes. I think we can easily get this many people to join a facebook group in 2008 opposing him. If this does not get him to reconsider his decision to run for President, it will certainly make him the joke that he is.

Please join the facebook group (you will have to login to join) and recommend this diary so that as many people as possible tell Nader what America really thinks of him.

Crossposted at Progressive American Patriot

As was expected, exit polls are showing that Vladimir Putin's personal political party, United Russia, is winning in a landslide. There is, however, widespread allegations of voter intimidation, and intimidation of opposition political parties. The Other Russia, an opposition party led by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, was not on the ballot because they were not allowed to register as a political party for the election. Bush would be proud, Putin really rigged the elections.

Today the Washington Post engaged in what is called a rumor bomb. The purpose of a rumor bomb is to convince the public of a rumor, no matter its veracity. Iraq has WMDs was a rumor bomb. Iraq helped Al-Qaeda carry out 9/11 was a rumor bomb. Rumor bombs are part of a strategy used by conservatives to wage a pure war. A pure war is a war that has no end, led by a government which turns its propaganda machine inward to colonize its own people in a state of perpetual fear.

While there was plenty of substantiated dirt on Rudy Giuliani, the Washington Post chose to pay more attention to the rumor that Barack Obama is a Muslim. I took the opportunity to write the Washington Post "journalist" who wrote the story, and I would encourage you to do the same. My angry letter after the jump...

Crossposted at Progressive American Patriot

Dear Madame Speaker,

Recently you had the audacity to call yourself a leader, while simultaneously deriding the desires of progressive activists who want to get our soldiers out of Iraq as quickly as is safely possible. Like George W. Bush, you seem to have confused raw power with leadership, and rhetoric with action. You are no more a leader simply because you hold a position of power than Iraq is free simply because George W. Bush says it is. And we are no closer to getting our troops out of Iraq simply because you say it is your "highest priority... to [immediately] stop the war in Iraq," than we are to ending the bribery of elected officials because you say that ethics reform is one of your top priorities.

Crossposted at Progressive American Patriot

Barack Obama knows that loose nukes have always posed a far greater threat to American security than petty tyrants like Saddam Hussein. In the Senate, Obama worked with Senator Lugar to pass the Lugar-Obama initiative which has been signed into law, and is currently helping other nations to secure what were previously loose nukes.

Today, Obama is proposing a visionary change in American nuclear policy. If Obama is elected President, it shall be the unequivocal position of the United States government that all nuclear weapons, including the American arsenal, should be eliminated.

This is the last tracking poll I do. This is fun only so long as no one is cheating, but some Kucinich supporter is clearly freeping the poll.

All declared candidates are included for the sake of a more democratic poll. Each day the order in which the candidates are listed is randomly generated to avoid bias. Undecided will always be listed at the bottom of the poll for the sake of clarity. Good luck!

Yesterday's results were highly irregular. Mathematically, they are impossible without 1) someone blatantly cheating or 2) another website or an email chain linking to this poll throwing off the Daily Kos sample. This will all be discussed after the jump.

All declared candidates are included for the sake of a more democratic poll. Each day the order in which the candidates are listed is randomly generated to avoid bias. Undecided will always be listed at the bottom of the poll for the sake of clarity. Good luck!

Yesterday there was some discussion of polling methodology. This will be addressed after the jump. From here on out I will be using the following intro:

All declared candidates are included for the sake of a more democratic poll. Each day the order in which the candidates are listed is randomly generated to avoid bias. Undecided will always be listed at the bottom of the poll for the sake of clarity. Good luck!

The number 13 has no meaning to me, but if you are superstitious feel free to blame the number 13 if your candidate has a bad day. As I have said before, I am including all the declared candidates because this is more democratic. Each day the order in which the candidates are listed will be randomly generated. Undecided will always be listed at the bottom of the poll for the sake of clarity. If today's list does not appear random to you see my note on randomness after the jump.

Yesterday greenboy announced that he would no longer be posting a daily tracking poll. I have offered to continue the poll along with the help of a few other people. Please let me know if you would like to help. A few slight changes have been made to the poll in an effort to make it more democratic. All declared Democrats, regardless of now they are polling nationally, will be included in the poll. Each day the order in which the candidates are listed will be generated randomly. Undecided will always be listed at the bottom of the poll for the sake of clarity.

The Daily Kos Wikipedia page is in in need of a major update. It has virtually no information on YearlyKos 2007. It also needs information about the dispute between O'Reilly and the Daily Kos. However, if you do edit the page keep it mind what it has looked like when other organizations have edited their Wikipedia pages. Follow to the flip if you are interested in editing the page according to Wikipedia rules and at least trying to avoid Kos being accused of sending minions (most people do not understand that Kos does not control us all) to doctor Wikipedia.

Crossposted at Progressive American Patriot

I have never liked the term "Republican in Name Only," primarily because radical conservatives use it to imply that there is a centrist wing to the Republican Party leadership (if there ever was a centrist wing to the Republican Party, they are currently Democratic leaning independents). WINO, or Wavering in Name Only, best describes Susan Collins talk tough wavering support for Bush, vote for more death approach to Iraq. RINO more aptly describes the fascists, theocrats, plutocrats, panderers, and actors desperately trying to win the Republican presidential nomination. Here is a quick rundown of the RINOs running for President. Go to the flipside for candidate profiles before you vote.

It is often difficult to convey just how far to the right the Republican Party is. With a mainstream media which subscribes to two equal sides journalism at best, and fair and balanced journalism at worst, many Americans are not fully aware of the radical right wing nature of the Republican Party. The United States remains the only country in the advanced industrial world without universal health care. As the Democrats rally for universal health care, the Republicans trumpet sound bites on "socialized medicine." Never mind that universal health care is uncontested throughout the advanced industrial world. Never mind that every great conservative leader of the United Kingdom, France or Germany has supported universal health care in the late 20th and early 21st century. To understand just how perverse the Republican position on health care is, Americans must understand that the Republican Party is to the right of the European fascists on this and many issues.