Purple Texas? Jesus!

Push the panic button, Republicans. Buoyed by a Latino population turned Democratic by the race bating immigrant bashing of the Republican congress, and by a new, blue generation of young people, Texas, yes, Texas, is competitive this year.

We've got a real chance at a senate seat with Afghanistan veteran Rick Noriega gaining fast on Republican John Cornyn. Incredible.



And then look at this:



Kos notes, rightly I think, that there's no way Obama is going to win only 40 percent of women and only 69 percent of Democrats. Those numbers are being depressed by pissed off HIllary supporters.

But no......I won't even allow myself to fantasize about a Democratic Texas in 2008, but if McCain has to spend money campaigning in Dubya's home state (approval rate 39%), he's in major trouble.

And the future is bright.. as the age breakdown attests.



The era of Tom Delay is over.

And on the seventh day.....

Make Frank Rich a Part of your Sunday routine.

Rainy Day Fun and Games

Not only is it cold and wet this week Middlebury, VT, but the nomination battle remains in a cold, stagnant, swampy, sorry state.

Tuesday is not going to change anything: Obama will win NC though not by as large a margin as he would like. Hillary will win in Indiana, but it will do nothing to change the cold truth that she can't win without an increasingly unlikely coup d'superdelegate.

So, what's a political junkie to do, trapped inside during the cold, wet nomination battle, until the wide grassy field of general election season opens?

Fear not.

1. Relax your electibility tension with a warm bath, some scented candles, and a few blissful hours playing with the electoral college map at 270towin.com. Every time I do, that little voice in my head that says "If we lose Ohio and Florida, we lose the election" floats away. Ahhhhhhhh....... all we have to do is win the Kerry states plus Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico. I swear, it's better than a massage.





2. Measure up your political philosophy against your some of your favorite politicians at the electoralcompass.com. Maybe you'll be surprised, though um..... I wasn't:



3. Watch some good pornography. I mean The West Wing. Then cry and do it again.

A Thoughtful Point of View

Peggy Noonan's Op-Ed in Saturday's Wall Street Journal painted a carefully thought out, insightful opinion about Rev. Wright.  In her article, Noonan, a Reagan speechwriter famous for many of Reagan's most enduring sound bites, discusses her personal view of the Rev. Wright controversy and what the furor around the Reverend may say about America. Take a look.

Obama and Wright

Obama denounced Reverend Wright's most recent statements today:



He definitely needed to do this and I think he did it well, by addressing specific comments Wright made. A few perspectives here.

"Body of War"

Tonight, Dems screened "Body of War," one of the most recent anti-Iraq, anti-war documents out there. And, honestly, it was one of the better documentaries on the war that I've seen (and trust me, I've seen quite a few).

Chronicling the story of Tomas Young, an Iraq war veteran shot in the spinal cord just five days after he was deployed to Iraq, "Body of War," does not try to pull a Michael-Moore esque stunt and reveal hidden secrets and motives about conservative ineptitudes. It simply follows Young from his release from rehab to his wedding to his divorce to his growing role in Iraq Veterans Against the War. In other words, it provides a very personal and honest approach to life after Iraq. Interspersed in Young's story are the comments and rhetoric of various Senators and Representatives leading up to the 2002 Resolution to invade Iraq. Though both sides of the aisle are shown, two things stick out. One, just how ridiculous it was to make the President the one with the power to declare war, essentially depriving Congress of that same power. And second is the absurdity of those who argued for the invasion of Iraq. They all said the same thing. They all used the same phrases, the same arguments that invoked fear and were built upon nothing. Though this revelation is about as surprising as the recent NY Times exposure of Pentagon control of the press about Guantanamo, it's very striking to hear the remarks in a row, made by many different Congressmen across many different days. (For an accurate idea of what this propaganda sounded like when strung together, watch this montage of quotes from Lost. Seriously.) Serving as a breath of fresh air amongst this absurdity are the dissenting politicians that have become the "Immortal 23" or the Senators who voted "nay," including Senators Byrd, Boxer, Leahy, Kennedy, Wellstone and Jeffords.

I'm glad Dems showed this screening for several reasons, but namely because it reminded me that the war is an important issue. A Vermonter who is part of Iraq Veterans Against the War (a man himself not much older than 25) came up to me afterwards and said, "I was very surprised when I found out the College Democrats were screening this." His comment helped served as a reality check that, even though voters may be saying the economy is the most important issue, the Democratic Party is not just about one issue or not just about one candidate. It has a robust platform and represents a wide variety of issues. I think this perspective is important to keep in mind as we get even deeper into this election cycle, starting with the Iraq Debate on May 5th.

Anyway, now that we've paid for the requisition of the film, we will likely be showing this again in the near future and I highly recommend that people come.

An alternative prospective from Middlebury Confessional...

Original post: "I don't understand when people at Middlebury choose majors they don't like."

Commenter: "Your inability to understand is called privilege."