This day in 2004.....

This day in 2004 the electoral map was predicting Kerry 247 - Bush 285 and the "actual results" were Kerry 251 - Bush 286.

Today, the electoral maps put Obama at 375, 306, and 350.

We're getting close to Nov 4th. The polls and electoral map are in our favor, but we still need to GOTV!!!

AP Publishes Kerry with Nazi-like Salute

(AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)

The right-wingers always have a hissy fit when an unflattering photo of one of their own appears on the internet(s): Here, here, here, and here for just a few examples of the righties screeching "liberal bias" about internet(s) photos. Drudge has even bitched and whined when a photo of Bush with a similar pose is published (I would appreciate if anyone can find a URL).

What will they have to say about this one with Mr. Kerry? Answer: Nada.

Former DNC Chair Bashes Kerry

Terry McAuliffe, the former Chair of the DNC, claims in his new book that Kerry's presidential run was "one of the biggest acts of political malpractice in the history of American politics." McAuliffe's book, "What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals," goes on sale Jan. 23. More from Yahoo!:

McAuliffe criticizes the 2004 campaign that he was responsible for defending but ultimately lost to what he describes as a more organized Republican machine. McAuliffe calls the Kerry campaign gun-shy, distracted and incompetent.

McAuliffe said Kerry's camp was so afraid of offending swing voters that it didn't defend his record or criticize Bush. He said he was muzzled by Kerry's aides from assailing Bush's military record.

When Bush said in an interview on the first day that he didn't think the U.S. could win the war on terror, Kerry did not respond. The Massachusetts senator was windsurfing off Nantucket, unaware of the president's comments.

McAuliffe said he was "flabbergasted" to learn after the election that Kerry had $15 million left that he could have spent in the final push. "It was gross incompetence to hoard that money when the race was bound to be so close," McAuliffe said.

Kerry is no doubt an easy target for the right (and left) to attack. However, the right's obsession with Kerry is approaching some sort of clinical manifestation of a mental disorder.

Now, I admit I am sick and tired of the Kerry bashing (if you couldn't tell), but it's still refreshing to know that Democrats are not afraid to criticize their own. The right believes this is an imbalance or in-fighting. The right is not accustomed to dissent within the ranks. They get their talking-points and their little troopers/sheeple fall in line.

On the contrary, the left and their large tent allows for a wider range of opinions and stances. With that, the left is tolerant to dissent within ranks. This is just another example of why it's great to be Democrat, a leftist, a liberal, and a progressive. Digby sums it up nicely:

"I am a liberal because it is the political philosophy of freedom and equality. And I am a progressive because it is the political path to a better future. And I am a Democrat because it is the political party that believes in freedom, equality and progress."

Mail Redux: Sending an envelope is "complex"

Sorry for the back-to-back posts regarding the mail. This was not intentional.

The unhinged right are always on the lookout for some feeble and desperate attempt to slam John Kerry. Lois Roman over at the WaPo scrapes the bottom of the barrel for this failed attempt:

A Complex Greeting

Nothing is ever simple when it comes to John Kerry.

The senator from Massachusetts and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, sent out 75,000 Christmas cards with pictures of trees at each season. The Kerrys gushed over their "gratitude for the beauty of these trees and the life they represent."

But it didn't end there.

The card came in an odd-looking envelope, one of those with a return-mail flap and instructions to send it to . . . well, to a recycling company, so "it can be made into new carpet tile."

Carpet tile?

We want a "world without waste . . . where every product either returns safely to the soil or becomes a new product."

So the card instructs: "1. Remove this panel and insert it along with the card into the envelope. 2. Expose adhesive strip and fold the flap over to seal the envelope. 3. Drop this mailer into any U.S. mailbox."

Who else would send a Christmas card with a to-do list?

What's wrong, Lois? Have you lived too long in the digital age that mailing an envelope is too "complex" for you and not "simple"? Are you angry that a fellow American believes in recycling? Lois is obviously suffering from Kerry Derangement Syndrome or possibly the broader disease of Democratic Derangement Syndrome. Nonetheless, the unhinged right can always be counted on for a laugh and self-mockery. Thanks, Lois! Cheers to the 110th Congress' first day on the job!!