Please support Juan, an Amazing Obama Volunteer

He doesn't have an account on Kos but Juan is the most passionate, tireless Obama volunteer I have met.  By day, he's an art student here in Philly.  By night (and actually, pretty much all other times as well) he's a neighborhood team captain for the Obama campaign, a key organizer for GOTV efforts, a tireless canvasser, and an all-around nice guy who is passionate about getting Obama elected.  He stood out in the rain at the Constitution Center when Obama gave his race speech just for the chance to see him walk by, and he and I were lucky enough to get front row seats at a volunteer training session Obama conducted here in Philly before the primary.  He was in tears of joy at both events.

He has entered a tee shirt design into a contest for Obama.  If I didn't like the design, I'd have given him a courtesy vote and moved on.  But I truly love the design and encourage you all to vote for it.

You can vote for it here.

Al Franken, running against incumbent Norm Coleman in MN, is up with a new ad which I think is pretty effective.  It's in response to Coleman's attack ad called "Crazy Porn", which uses Franken's former career as a comedian and against him, and accuses him of writing porn.

(I guess writing it is bad, but when Phil Gramm produces it, and Lynn Cheney writes it for lesbians it's ok?)

I doubt this will affect Rep. Robert Wexler's election this year, but it could become a PR headache. His Republican challenger, Edward Lynch, unearthed something supposedly fishy about Wexler's housing arrangements and brought it to Fox News, which aired a piece on it last night.

The American Debate is Dick Pohlman's column/blog in the Philly Inquirer, and it really was a delight to open the paper this morninig and see the columnist's Op Ed about the Maliki situation.  Philadelphia is solidly blue, but the coverage, and particularly the letters to the editor of the Inquirer have been tilting negative towards Obama. Although the Inquirer endorsed Obama over Clinton, I haven't seen as much good news in the paper as I would like.

But after this week, and the TIME story, and seeing the paper today, I'm starting to think that maybe, maybe, the MSM is beginning to see the light.

For the past several months, MSNBC has been holding a tournament for each party for viewers to vote on who should be the VP.

The Republican VP has been chosen (by the viewers), and the Democratic VP is in the final rounds.

It's been pretty fun watching how the voting goes, and some of the match-ups have been amusing.

Wow, Frank Rich's Sunday NYT Op Ed column, It’s the Economic Stupidity, Stupid, just slams McCain! Despite a somewhat odd discussion towards the end about VP candidates, it's a thing of beauty, with this as the central point:

were voters forced to actually focus on Mr. McCain’s response to our spiraling economic crisis at home, the prospect of his ascension to the Oval Office could set off a panic that would make the IndyMac Bank bust in Pasadena look as merry as the Rose Bowl.

Is the MSM starting to get it?

I wish the quote above were about John McCain, but alas no, it's yet another twist in the funniest saga in the GOP these days (although I think Big Bad John's Video is in close running for the title of funniest aspect of the Republicans this year).

No, this is about NY-13, Vito Fossella's old seat.

That's the best the late night comedians have been able to come up with as a joke about Obama so far.

In the wake of The New Yorker cover (has that been diaried enough times yet?) comes an article in today's New York Times about the trouble late night comedians are having finding a good joke about Senator Obama.

For an urban street, it's peaceful and residential.  There are lots of cars, dogs, bikes, strollers, joggers and walkers (2 outstanding restaurants are on the corner and there's a dog park across the street), but still, definitely residential.

So there I am Sunday morning, washing up the last few breakfast dishes, looking idly out the window when I see driving past: a Victorian trolley, a bright purple tourist Phlash bus, and a police motorcade.

Last night I posted this diary about how Chris Dodd is Being Vetted for VP, based on an AP article.  It also mentioned that Joe Biden and Ken Salazar are not being considered, and that Kathleen Sebelius and Claire McCaskill avoid answering.

Over at The Field, Al Giordano has a more detailed article on some of the other potential candidates.

Talking Points Memo has an article up (via the AP) confirming that Chris Dodd has been asked to submit paperwork to Obama's VP search committee.

On the night of July 3, I attended a remarkable event.  A once in a lifetime event.

I went to Benjamin Franklin's wedding to Betsy Ross.

What?

I haven't seen this diaried today, but in case we forget in all the FISA and Clark hullaballoo...we have a tin-eared, addled and confused candidate on the other side.  Let's not lose sight of just who we're competing against.

Yesterday's Politico had an article on Longshots in the veepstakes that raised some of the more interesting potential VP candidates.

Today's LA Times has an article by a reporter who, getting the runaround from the McCain camp on scheduling a formal interview with McCain's mother, picked up the phone, called her directly, and ended up speaking with her every Thursday for a few weeks:

Roberta McCain steals reporter's heart, strikes fear in handlers'

So it went. I called Mrs. McCain every few weeks. Normal channels weren't producing an interview. And she didn't seem to mind.

She would usually begin by saying she couldn't really talk. Then, overcome by impeccable manners and a native loquaciousness, she'd get going despite herself.

President Bush - and it still pains me to write that - is a colossal idiot.  I know that comes as news to no one here.

And he has yet again demonstrated such a tin ear, such a stupid, bigoted, mean-spirited way of interacting with the world.  

Via Huffington Post, here's the dialogue Bush had with Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo:

PRESIDENT BUSH: Madam President, it is a pleasure to welcome you back to the Oval Office. We have just had a very constructive dialogue. First, I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President of a nation that -- in which there's a lot of Philippine-Americans. They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the President that I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Yes.

PRESIDENT BUSH: And the chef is a great person and a really good cook, by the way, Madam President.

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Thank you.

This is pure gossip, as Joe Klein points out, but it's fun nonetheless (or perhaps, therefore).

Musings on gay marriage.

Thursday night my neighborhood held a potluck picnic goodbye party for a couple and their three boys who are moving abroad for at least two and possibly five years.  They're wonderful neighbors and my two boys play with theirs all the time; I'm going to miss waving at them each morning as we both pick up our newspapers, hanging out on their stoop with them as our kids chalk the sidewalk and blow bubbles, and just having them around.