It feels great.

I can't imagine being pessimistic right now - not under these conditions.

Alaska won't go dem, I predict Ted will win v. Begich 60-40.

Begich is only popular in Anchorage, and 'popular' is being generous... politicians in Alaska, in general, aren't held in the highest esteem. Rhetoric doesn't fly, it's all about the pork.

I was heartened to see from the First Read piece that Schumer seems to feel optimistic at Noriega's chances in TX.

I was thrilled when he got Russ Feingold's progressive patriot award. I knew he was more than viable then - that's a nice bit of money.

So you think the polls showing Uncle Ted losing are wrong?

I think if Obama is our candidate, we run the table.

No wonder Limbaugh is trying to push Ms. Clinton.
~

Yes. Begich is a friendly beancounter, not a cage-fighter. Alaskans still want ANWR opened and will have important business in the US Senate soon... N. America's largest private construction project... a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope thru Canada to the midwest/Chicago area. Being a successful mayor of Anchorage is a far cry from D.C.. Managing the city budget in Anchorage is a cakewalk... high property taxes/values, very unlikely to be affected by the nationwide real estate woes... they are awash in $.

One final note on Alaska's republicanness... we don't buy into social conservative bible beater republicanism... results matter, show us the money.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) finally got his turn during today's Senate foreign relations committtee hearing and used it to question what "success" would be in Iraq.

I have been waiting for 5 years for someone to ask this question.

There was never an objective. Without an objective, how do you
ever measure success or failure? For 5 years I've waited for someone to point that out.

I forgot to segue Alaska's GOP leanings into its support for Obama... I don't believe the support is intended to create a tsunami effect giving the dems absolute power (like Bush reps have had). I think it has to do with a very specific issue, i.e. an infrastructure bank. Alaska's economy is based on a few key areas, listed in order of importance. 1. oil production 2. construction 3. tourism 4. commercial/sport fish industries.

This probably belongs on a different post but I'll stick in here anyway.

Alaska has survived on earmarks for the past 20 yrs or so. Earmarks aren't seen as pork (in Alaska) as much as much needed infrastructure and construction spending. Infrastructure being a public good and construction spending being good for union/trade labor and small business. McCain falls for the hard left no-oil argument, and consistently supports union-busting, (talk about split personality!).

Obama's support of an infrastructure bank takes the federal funding of these types of projects out of the shadows and gives them a legitimate process by which they can be publicly debated and funded. Alaskans are very unhappy about the negative insinuations related to so-called bridges to nowhere and other projects.

Let me confess that I'm a registered republican, but I think social conservatism is a form of fascism, (not to mention I'm an atheist). That tends to leave me unrepresented because as we all know libertarian candidates are eccentric and marginalized.

Obama is gaining real, tangible republican support based on the above types of issues. If the economy is indeed faltering, (so far in some specific sectors, not yet broadly) then we have two options. Ride it out, suffer and lose some power/standing in the financial world... or spend our way out of it. I'm for the latter. I'm a big believer people would rather collect a paycheck than a welfare/unemployment check.

I think Obama is a reasonable person not tied down to ideology from EITHER side, by that I mean hard left liberalism can be just as detrimental as hard right conservatism.

This is great news. With Democratic gains in the Senate, we can toss Lieberman from his committee assignments and give them to, you know, an actual Democrat. I would pay lots of money to be a fly on the wall when the Majority leadership give Lieberman the news.

I would pay lots of money to be a fly on the wall when the Majority leadership give Lieberman the news.

I'd pay more if they'd let me tell him.

:)

We could tell him together, Tena :D

*cranks up the handle to the old LP turntable*

*Puts the little plastic piece into the middle of the 45*

*Places Johnny Nash 45 onto the platter*

*Places needle on the 45*

"scratch, scratch"

"I can see clearly, now, the rain is gone"

*Dances around the room*

Certainly great news. I just hope that Sen. Schumer keeps in mind the need to keep Mary Landrieu in the Senate.

She will never be a progressive's favorite Senator, but she is as liberal as one can be from Louisianna and still maintain a hope of being re-elected.

I volunteered in her campaigns for Governor in '95 and Senate in '96 while I was a college student in New Orleans. I would hate to lose her seat because we didn't compensate for the Katrina losses.

It would be foolish to start counting the chickens at this early date.