In the grainy video below, Senator Obama presents his views related to tax parity. The GOP would have you believe that Obama will raise taxes and yes he will....

John McCain noted that when angered as a child, he would hold his breath until he blacked out. In high school he was known as "Punk" and McNasty." McCain's volatile temper is legendary. His explosions or "McSplosions" as we call them in the Tater home are disturbing events filled with expletives and primitive fury.

In the primary season of 2000, the Arizona Republic warned:

If McCain is truly a serious contender for the presidency, it is time the rest of the nation learned about the John McCain we know in Arizona. There is also reason to seriously question whether he has the temperament, and the political approach and skills, we want in the next president of the United States.

What does the Clinton campaign’s internal polling in PA show that has led to her going negative even in the last couple of days before primary day? I thought it was common knowledge that the front runner (and she is the front runner in PA) closes positive – no need to be negative when you’re winning, right? LarsThorwald notes in his dairy that there is a different feel about PA compared to Ohio and, as of late, the Obama campaign seems to be shifting tactics a bit. What does their internal polling show?

Our Central NJ group was directed to Delaware County after weeks of requesting our assistance in Montgomery and Lower Bucks County. We gladly obliged although the commute was well over an hour and the area is considered a Republican stronghold. I was told by one man at a home we canvassed that he was informed 30 years ago upon military discharge that he HAD to register Republican or risk never acquiring gainful employment.

Please people, help us avoid this headline. There is still time and a lot of work to be done. I wrote last night about canvassing in a highly promising area under the direction of the Levittown office of Obama for America. Not too many people got to see it due to the active Compassion Forum blogging so I'd like to repost a bit about our experience and inform you that you have been asked by the Field Director of the Levittown office for your help.

Yesterday, Mr. Tater and I headed down to the Levittown field office for the Obama campaign to canvass (Patrick Murphy’s election office). The parking lot was full of cars with Obama stickers and plates from all over – NJ, VA, MD, CT, NY and, of course, PA. We sat in on a meeting with dedicated volunteers from all of those states and were incredibly impressed by the professionalism of the campaign staff and the enthusiasm and passion of the Obama volunteers.

It’s been a big week in the Tater household in NJ as we cross the Delaware River to help with the volunteer efforts in PA. I diaried last Wednesday about the added bonus of attending the Levittown Town Hall where we were fortunate enough to sit in the front row and, at the conclusion, shake the hand of and share a brief word with the next President of the United States. It was a breathless moment watching him work his way down the rope line toward us

I have been writing with some pessimism and dismay regarding Obama's chances in Levittown, PA. After learning yesterday that Obama was coming to Levittown on last minute notice I was both thrilled and worried. We arrived early, about 90 minutes before the doors opened and there were only about 30 of us in line. Would the people of Levittown actually attend an Obama town hall? Would people picket and wave ugly signs? The answer is below...

Our stalwart group of Central NJ volunteers has been crossing the river to register voters and now canvass in Bucks and Montgomery counties over the last 4 weeks. The welcome has been generally warm and enthusiastic, where many proclaim great excitement for Senator Obama. However, Mr. Tater and I had one rough experience, diaried here, that speaks to Obama’s greatest challenge – the white, low education, low information Reagan Democrat. If Obama is to win PA, he will do so by minimizing his losses amongst this demographic. Levittown is the prototypical tough-nut-to-crack PA town and the day we were at the Levittown Obama office, so was the New York Times. Follow me below the fold for snippets of this in depth article, my personal take and instructions on how you, yes YOU, can help.

What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday I described canvassing for Obama in the Northeast suburbs of Philly. Montgomery County borders Bucks County which is thought to be pivotal to an Obama victory or at least the aversion of a blowout. A mere 7 days ago, the Obama staffer’s office consisted of a corner in Starbuck’s. Today there is decent-sized office space and two staffers coordinating activities. Last week there were not enough volunteers to canvass and about 10 clipboards prepared with canvassing documents sat on her Starbuck’s coffee table yearning for bodies to port them about.

Today, the office was bustling with standing room only in both small staging rooms. One room was for training volunteers for voter registration in high traffic destinations like malls and shopping centers, while the other room was used to train volunteers for house-to-house canvassing for Indie voter registration conversions. In PA, voters must be registered as Democrats to participate in the primary. It was clear that the Obama staffers were delighted by the flood of volunteers that just kept pouring into their little HQ this morning.

We all know the suburbs are going to be critical. Job one is to register as many new voters as possible and reregister even more Independents. Today I set out to an area in Montgomery County called Willow Grove. Since yesterday’s news cycle with Wright and Resko dominating the headlines I had a feeling of trepidation. Would people slam the door in my face? Spout hateful slurs? Say Obama was doomed?!? The answer is below the fold.

Today Hillary Clinton told George Stephanopoulos that she had access to classified information despite not having a security clearance during her tenure as First Lady. This is not my area of expertise, but somehow this admission seemed to suggest either somebody inappropriately shared classified information with the then First Lady or somebody today may have tortured the truth.

The video is available at This Week. The segment in question is entitled, "No Formal, Official Role for..." The particular statement occurs at -11:20.

As one who has read Krugman for years and generally respects his judgment, I have felt torn about his almost irrationally harsh criticism of Barack Obama. I chalked his views up to everything from passionate and honest differences to self interest. Now, thanks to Jonathan Alter’s latest piece in Newsweek, it is possible that Krugman is simply wrong because he is basing his arguments on incorrect "facts."

Alter sets the stage by noting that:

A New York Times article posted today noted that Obama has vowed to take a more aggresive stand against Hillary Clinton. Many Obama supporters have been deeply concerned that he has allowed HRC to back him into a corner where every strong statement by Obama pointing out differences is met with "What ever happened to the politics of hope?" I do believe that Barack is about to tell Hillary "I got your politics of hope right here."

Senator Barack Obama said he would start confronting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton more forcefully, declaring Friday that she had not been candid in describing her views on critical issues, as he tries to address mounting alarm among supporters that his lack of assertiveness has allowed her to dominate the presidential race.

With national polls so grim that they make a hard-core optimist like me cringe, Team Obama signals a significant change in strategy. The Chicago Tribune reported today:

It may be bye-bye Mr. Nice Guy for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who said Thursday that he is opening the "next phase" of his campaign and plans to more pointedly and aggressively go after frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton.

"Now is the time where we're going to be laying a very clear contrast between myself and Senator Clinton," the Illinois Democrat told CNN. "Not just on the past, not just on Iraq, but on moving forward."

Many of the comments today did not require little sad face emoticons to emphasize the demoralizing effects of the Washington Post poll. There was an excellent diary up early by Zenbowl pointing out the obvious weaknesses of that poll, i.e. relying on "Adults" instead of registered or likely voters. Still, I must admit, there has been a lumpy mass sitting in the pit of my stomach imagining that a truly progressive candidate will not inhabit the White House. Then I read a piece on the RCP Horse Race Blog entitled Clinton Expands Her Lead. Now why would I want to add insult to injury? It is because of the link read, "Clinton Expands Her Lead?" Note that the question mark makes all of the difference in the world.

Truth, honesty and integrity are central to any healthy relationship; personal, professional and electoral. Truth, the cornerstone of the pact between elected official and constituents, inspired the myth of the youthful George Washington and the unfortunate cherry tree. Remember that one? "I can’t tell a lie, Pa ... I did cut it with my hatchet." Oh how we yearn for the truth, which is absurd because it is the very least we deserve. The ‘Ways of Washington’ include the acceptance of truthiness. That is why what Obama promised today is of particular importance.

Michelle Obama in Iowa

This segment was just aired on Hardball tonight. In it, Michelle introduces Barack to an Iowa audience by stating a critical rationale for why he is the right person to lead the country. In her elegant, eloquent and powerful way, she makes the case for letting go of fear and being willing to try something, someone, new.

Quick apology for providing only a link and not a lovely picture on which you can click. Also, there are those pesky pundits, ignore them, they'll go away...

Pundits a plenty belittled Senator Obama for his answer on the foreign policy question regarding whether or not to meet with "undesirable" world leaders without preconditions at last week's You Tube-CNN debate. The war of words that followed was legendary and well hashed over here at Kos. The good news for Obama supporters was that polls did show that the American people generally favored the Obama plan of aggressive foreign policy.

CNN  has a video story up describing what their correspondents think the various Democratic candidates need to do tonight. The gist is that Clinton has the most to lose as the front runner. She is seen as vulnerable in Iowa and in need of persuading New Hampshire primary voters to keep her on top; much like Bill before her (remember the "Comeback Kid?"). I feel that most importantly she needs to be as solid as she was in the first debate, but more spontaneous and warm. She needs to counter the charges in the two new books so that potential voters walk away saying, "Those books are nothing but sour grapes."