I'm fine with Obama's first salvo of national ads, but I'm also hoping for something different this year: I'd like to see an ad campaign that matches the 50-state strategy we've heard so much about.  In other words, let's see some ads that focus on the unique concerns throughout the country.

For example, there could be an ad just for Nevada slamming McCain for his pro-Yucca Flats position.  There could be an ad for Northern Virginia on Obama's plan for fixing the transportation crisis.  There could be an ad on fair trade for Michigan and Ohio.

Bob Alexander is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan’s 8th District. Bob is a progressive Democrat who will fight for our interests in Congress. Bob will fight for good-paying jobs, health care for all, successful schools and less expensive colleges, a clean environment, and a more effective government at all levels.

Kos has talked about better Democrats vs. more Democrats. Bob is a better Democrat. Bob understands the issues that face real people. Over the last 7 years, Bob has helped raise the Michigan Minimum Wage. He is fighting for health care for all of Michigan’s citizens. In fact, he worked on the Ingham County Access to Health Care group that expanded health services for county residents.

Bob is running against incumbent Mike Rogers (Republican). Mike Rogers is an extreme right-wing candidate who usually walks in lockstep with Bush and Cheney. Mike Rogers has a lot of money and name recognition. Bob, on the other hand, is depending on regular people for donations. It is hard for middle class people to make donations right now. I have already donated quite a bit (for me), but all of our bills are going up. The paychecks, on the other hand, are not going up.  

(continued...   keep reading!)

From the subscription-only Roll Call:

The Republican National Committee is launching $3 million in independent expenditure television ads in four states, focusing on the energy issue.

The ad is slated to run on network and cable television in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and will highlight the differences between Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) on energy security.

This is good, our first look at how much McCain and the RNC can move people with their usual bull. It's all offense, too. The four states are Kerry Blue states. Let's grab the current Pollster.com composites for those four states, so we can use that as a baseline to see whether these ads move numbers:

Michigan:

Ohio:

Pennsylvania:

Wisconsin:

Update: Oops, obviously Ohio is not a Kerry state...

(cross-posted in a slightly different format at MichiganLiberal.)

I'm sitting in the Café of the Barnes and Noble on 28th St. in Grand Rapids, MI recovering and recaffeinating my body after surviving a hectic and wonderful day yesterday.

I have to be honest: I'm a homosexual, but I'm a fairly conservative homosexual. I didn't acknowledge my sexuality publicly until I was 22. My friends and I were planning a trip to see a Stephen Lynch concert in Pontiac, and we were discussing the merits of Lynch's act. We acknowledged that he's a good singer and that he's hilarious, and then I just blurted out, "He's hot, too!" In any event, I've only been to the gay bar in Muskegon 4-5 times, and drag queens still make me nervous. I only came out at work about six months ago. I've never had a boyfriend. I'm 26, and yesterday was my first Pride.

I learned a lot yesterday. I learned a lot about life, about people, and about the Gay Agenda. I initially tagged along expecting fun and games, but yesterday turned out to be an educational experience.

Join me over the flip and find out what I learned.

Strange week. Saw my first McCain ad this week...and it is clear he is running as a Democrat. Healthcare, alternative energy, environment...all Democratic talking points. We have gone from Democrats feeling like they have to run as Repub-Lite to Republicans trying to hide behind a Democratic facade. You even have a Republican running for Senate in Oregon trying to claim (falsely) that Obama supports him. This is desperation for the Republicans! It sounds like racist attacks have failed them, though I am sure they will try more as time goes on.

Meanwhile yet more polls show Obama ahead in Virginia and Missouri, tied in Florida, AHEAD IN INDIANA (wow!) and within 1-2 points of McCain in North Carolina, Alaska and Georgia. Each and every one of these states was solid Bush in 2004. Now they are either leaning Obama or effectively tied.

What a kooky statement this is about a state that staked its entire future on the Auto Industry.  Following the biggest plummet in GM's stock prices in 3 decades, at the moment the Pleasant Penninsula's future may seem even bleaker!

MISSISSIPPI

Yesterday, I wrote in the Hill:

In a year promising one electoral surprise after another, Mississippi may be poised to offer the biggest shocker of them all — Democrats may walk away on Election Day with one of the state’s Senate seats and maybe even its six electoral votes.

Rasmussen. 6/24. Likely voters. MoE 4% (5/27 results)

I've emailed Rasmussen asking if they have racial breakdowns. Those will be particularly important in gauging our chances in this state. And in the Senate race:

COLORADO

Quinnipiac. 6/17-24. Likely voters. MoE 2.7% (No trendlines)

The Pollster.com composite for Colorado is Obama 46.3, McCain 42.8.

MICHIGAN

Quinnipiac. 6/17-24. Likely voters. MoE 2.6% (No trendlines)

Obama is starting to show a clear lead in the state. While earlier this week McCain held a narrow lead in Michigan, this week's two polls have changed the Pollster.com composite for Colorado to Obama 47.4, McCain 40.9.

MINNESOTA

Quinnipiac. 6/17-24. Likely voters. MoE 2.5% (No trendlines)

A SUSA poll a couple of days ago claimed it was a 47-46 Obama lead, but that appears to be an outlier at this time. Every other poll shows numbers along these lines, and the Pollster.com composite is Obama 51.6, McCain 38.5.

WISCONSIN

Quinnipiac. 6/17-24. Likely voters. MoE 2.5% (No trendlines)

With this poll, the Wisconsin composite is now Obama 50.6, McCain 40.4.

Keep in mind that McCain is currently running ads in Minnesota in the hope that he can soften it up for contention (especially if plans on adding MN Gov. Pawlenty to his ticket). The belief is apparently that Pawlenty
would also put Wisconsin in contention. These poll composites suggests that with the double-digit Obama leads, McCain might need to look elsewhere for fertile territory.

Race tracker wiki: MS-Sen

Breaking news and it is very good. Obama has solid leads in four battle ground states.

Every month's Iraq Moratorium action in Milwaukee seems to have a special moment. In May it was a thumbs-up from a passing Army recruiter. This month, it was when a woman stopped to tell a leafleter handing out information about the Moratorium that her son is in Iraq. So tearful and emotional she had difficulty speaking, she said he was on his second tour there as a National Guardsman. "Thank you for what you're doing," she said. "I just want him home."

Cornwall, Connecticut held its first outdoor vigil and reported an "overwhelmingly positive response from people driving by, with at least one local resident, Suzanne, who hadn't heard about the doings on the Green in advance pulling her car over and jumping aboard for the rest of the vigil."  Maybe it was the horn trio (two trombones and a sax) that got her attention. (Photo above.)

MICHIGAN

Public Policy Polling (PDF). 6/21-22. Likely voters. MoE 4.1% (No trendlines)

The Pollster.com composite now gives Obama a nice 46.5-40.7 advantage, finally turning the state blue after a few weeks of a McCain lead.

PENNSYLVANIA

Rasmussen. 6/19. Likely voters. MoE 4% (5/21 results)

That looks more like float with the MoE than a real gain, but at least it's trending in the right direction. This poll now pushes the Pollster.com composite score up to Obama 48, McCain 40.5.

Senator, I love ya. Nobody here is going to doubt that. I considered myself extremely lucky that I got to vote for you once, and now that you're the nominee and I'm going to get a chance to vote for you again, I'm practically beside myself. I'm thrilled.

And I hate to add to the handwringing going on around here (FISA, the public financing of your campaign, etc.) but trust me when I say that I wouldn't do so unless I had a good reason.

This is my good reason.

A Public Policy Polling Michigan poll released this morning shows Obama with what I think we can call a comfortable lead in Michigan, 48 to 39.  As regulars here know, MI has been discussed as one of McCain's best hopes of stealing a Kerry state, and the lack of a Democratic primary (and Obama campaigning) there had been cited as potential disadvantages for Obama.

Although it is only June (standard necessary caveat), that is looking increasingly unlikely.

(Full results in pdf format here.)

573 LV, +/-4.1%, poll taken 6/21-6/22.

Crossposted from MichiganLiberal.com

Dear Friends,

Today, I am proud to announce that our campaign has just received the endorsement of General Wesley Clark.

Gary Peters is a uniquely qualified leader with the experience, character, and judgment that we need in Washington right now. From the Navy Reserve to the state Senate, Gary Peters has made a career out of taking action to solve problems, and that's what he'll do as the Congressman from the 9th District.

I don't need to tell this community that General Clark knows what grassroots and netroots campaigning is all about. The Draft Wes Clark movement in 2003 made history, and since then, General Clark and WesPAC have been working nonstop to support other Democrats who believe that we need to act now to bring our troops home from Iraq, strengthen our national security, and provide the best possible care for our veterans.

If you are familiar with OpenLeft, you are familiar with Chris Bowers, Mike Lux, Matt Stoller, Paul Rosenberg and adamterando.  You know that it is a great blog to read, and that it provides many ways for people to help change the way politics are played.  

Whether you want to help Obama and the Democrats win or you are just plain sick and tired of the way politics are played, I would like to tell you why I think you need to go over there and check this out.  

The floods in the Midwest have continued and I include some information where I can in the Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin sections. Best of luck to all readers in the hard hit areas.

This week I return to an issue I discussed before: Republican cronies litterally killing our troops with no government oversight. This week Democratic Sentor Bob Casey is demanding an investigation of the electrocutions due to bad wiring that have been plaguing our military bases managed by a Hallibruton subsidiary. More below.

Barack Obama reached out to the women who were barred from the stage during his speech in Michigan.

Polls may be good today, but the Obama campaign is making gigantic mistakes that will haunt our party's nominee in November if corrective action is not taken. I say this as a volunteer; I've volunteered over 100 hours of my time to the Obama campaign. As a volunteer, I feel I am a stakeholder in the campaign; shareholders can be concerned about the direction of a company  they believe in; volunteers like me can be concerned about the direction of a campaign we believe in. There are several things to be concerned about.

Now that Kobe, Phil, and the vaunted triangle offense have bowed out of the NBA finals in the post-Shaq-LA era, we may have seen the beginnings of a new 3 man dream team.  In the city where the Jackson-led, triangle offense Bulls and Pistons battled for world domination in the late 80's early 90's, Jennifer Granholm, Al Gore and Barack Obama gathered at "the Joe" Monday night