[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Edward Espinoza
Member, Democratic National Committee

After seeing the presidential nomination process unfold over the course of five months, it’s a good time to reflect and see what can be done to improve upon things.

Should Iowa and New Hampshire retain benevolent rights to remain first? Might we caucus on Father’s Day? Can Superdelegates really halt an insurgent candidacy from someone like Mike Gravel? Here’s a list of ideas that might get us going in the right direction.

No More Caucuses. Using a caucus as a form of an election makes about as much sense as putting candidates through a cage fighting match to determine a nominee. Actually a cage fighting match might be better as it may prove who is better suited to battle with cable TV commentators. One needs a math degree to figure caucuses out – and even then the numbers don’t make sense. Let’s get rid of them.

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

We've got ourselves a heck of a horserace shaping up as the PickYourPresident poll continues.  In just 24 hours we've seen a lot of movement in the standings, with John Edwards cutting Obama's California lead in half.  Elsewhere, Clinton bumped Edwards for 2nd in Ohio and the two are separated by a whisker in Michigan- further evidence of a Clinton surge over the weekend.

I've got big plans to head for Reno at the end of the week (Friday, also when the poll ends), and I've got no idea what to expect from the Nevada caucus.  Given that Nevada has never seen a caucus like this, it's impossible to predict with certainty what will happen there.  But given how unpredictable the nomination process has already been on both sides, I can't imagine it'll be definitive.  I'm waiting right now for Michigan results to be finalized, but that won't matter much on the Democratic side.  Momentum is a fickle beast, but Super Tuesday is the one time it could actually matter.  Polling throughout Feb 5 states have shown that races are tightening all over.  Who knows what could happen at this point, but if you have a candidate that you support, the more public your support, the better.

National Rankings:

1. Sen. Barack Obama

2. Sen. John Edwards

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

CMR has the highest respect for the former Senator from North Carolina and his supercharged clarion call for closing the gaping divide between the haves and have-nots in our country, who have been increasingly desegregated after seven years of President Bush. For the record, we are also more than a little sweet on his wife, the delightful Elizabeth Edwards.
 
So we reject the current wisdom of the national punditocracy, such as it is, which would prematurely winnow the Democratic field down to two. And we are castigating ourselves for giving in to the temptation with this week's "The Majority Vote," which attempted to cheekily parody the shocking results of New Hampshire with a poll question that offered the choice of Clinton, Obama and Mike Gravel.

There's more...

Photo courtesy The Washington Note.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

The Courage Campaign in coalition with five other progressive state groups have launched PickYourPresident.org, as the name suggests it is an open primary poll.  Yes, you can vote for both Democrats and Republicans, though the response rate as one would imagine is exponentially higher for the Democrats.

Edwards had been leading in almost all of the states, but in the most recent update that flipped nationally and most of the other states.  His lead has narrowed here in California, so supporters of either, it's time to get to voting.

Here is the current order:

1. Sen. John Edwards

2. Sen. Barack Obama

3. Rep. Dennis Kucinich

4. Sen. Hillary Clinton

5. Gov. Bill Richardson

6. Sen. Mike Gravel

Only one vote per person please, though do pass it on to your friends and family members.  This is a great opportunity to do some person-to-person outreach on behalf of your favorite candidate.  It's a good icebreaker to start the conversation.

And here is the national order:

1. Sen. Barack Obama

2. Sen. John Edwards

3. Rep. Dennis Kucinich

4. Sen. Hillary Clinton

5. Gov. Bill Richardson

by Elizabeth Cable [courtesy of Blog for America]

A statement, purportedly from the great Noam Chomsky himself, was recently issued on the front page of Former Alaskan Senator and current Presidential candidate Mike Gravel's official campaign website. The statement applauds Gravel's accomplishments, and it reads as such:

"Alone among members of Congress, Senator Mike Gravel had the courage to take a stand that not only helped bring the atrocious Indochina wars to an end, but also made a great contribution to breaking the wall of secrecy that governments erect to protect themselves from their own citizens. I am of course referring to his release of the Pentagon Papers, properly called "the Gravel edition," which provided the public with a unique opportunity to become educated about affairs of state.  

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Hillary Clinton is still holding her leading in New Hampshire -- but it's dropping -- with just three days to go until New Hampshire voters go to the polls, according to a new 7NEWS/Suffolk University tracking poll released this morning.
 
In the Democratic Primary, Hillary Clinton (36 percent) leads Barack Obama (29 percent), John Edwards (13 percent), Bill Richardson (4 percent), Joe Biden (1 percent), Dennis Kucinich (1 percent), Mike Gravel (1 percent), and 12 percent were undecided.
 
Obama has climbed four points overnight and Hillary Clinton has dropped one.
 
Obama’s gains were most dramatic among young voters in New Hampshire who may have been energized by the Iowa win. Among likely voters ages 18-35 years, Obama led Clinton 44%-31%, compared to the previous tracking where he trailed Clinton 35%-31%.
 
In the Republican Primary, the 7NEWS/Suffolk University poll also shows Mitt Romney (30 percent) led John McCain (26 percent), while Iowa Caucus Republican winner Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giulianiwere tied for third at 11 percent. Other candidates receiving support were Ron Paul (8 percent), Fred Thompson (2 percent), and Duncan Hunter (1 percent). There were 10 percent undecided. This is the first time in nine consecutive polls that Rudy Giuliani has improved his numbers from a previous poll.

by Anderson Figg [courtesy of Blog for America]

I remember these guys from the first YouTube debate.  After that I looked up all of the questions they submitted and some were really funny. Some were really lame.

I think these guys also have  an internet show? maybe? Does anyone know?

 Anyway, for Christmas, they got former Senator Mike Gravel. The clip is pretty bizzarre. I'm not sure what to think of it. Some of it is kind of funny. But it also isn't very favorable to Mike Gravel.

What do you think?