First, from Hillary’s campaign:

Dear Abi,

Tonight’s victory in Indiana was close, and a margin that narrow means just one thing: every single thing you did to help us win in Indiana helped make the difference.

Every call you made, every friend you spoke to about our campaign, every dollar you contributed made tonight’s victory possible. And I couldn’t be more thankful for your hard work.

Every time we’ve celebrated a victory, we’ve celebrated it together. And tonight is no exception. This victory is your victory, this campaign is your campaign, and your support has been the difference between winning and losing.

Thank you so much for making this campaign possible. Let’s keep making history together.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Next, from Barack:

Abigail –

We just won a decisive victory in North Carolina thanks to people like you.

Indiana remains too close to call. But what is clear is that we did much better than all the pundits predicted, despite Republicans changing parties to support Senator Clinton, believing she would be easier for Senator McCain to defeat.

Here’s where we stand.

As of Tuesday morning, we needed just 273 delegates to clinch the nomination. When the votes are fully counted Wednesday morning, we will have gained more than a third of them in a single day.

We have a clear path to victory. But now is the time for each one of us to step up and do what we can to close out this primary.

Please make a donation of $25 right now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/results

Thank you for everything you’re doing,

Barack

Can they really not see the damage this is doing to the party? I was gratified to hear Barack say on Meet the Press that no matter what, he wants to see a Democrat win in November. I haven’t heard such a comment from Hillary. In fact, she’s already lumping Barack in with the losers and aligning herself with McCain as the best candidates, which is troubling. But what can we do?  One more month, and the death march is over. Let’s hope someone is still standing!

(I am in no way belitting the harrowing experience of the actual Bataan Death March. Please don’t take it that way.)

So..what’s the truth here? Obama says he doesn’t take money from lobbyists. I take this to mean that he doesn’t have any PACs - fundraising, mud-slinging organizations. And that he’s not going to give any one favor for their fundraising efforts, except maybe Oprah I think it means that high-powered attorneys that happen to work or run law firms that also house lobbyists have taken a shine to what Barack has to say.

It’s all grey areas. (Notice the absense of a black and white joke here.)

Speaking of endorsements, the New York Times has a cool endorsements page here. Not their own endorsements, but who is endorsing who.

McCain has got it all sewn up, so now the Dems just have to fight out the rest of the primaries. There’s been some speculation about superdelegates swooping in at the National Convention and offering up a new name.

Honestly, after I sent in my absentee ballot on Feb. 1st, I kind of lost interest because what can I do until the general election? Is this the apathy that I normally detest? Or reasonable rest before the next big race that I can be involved in?

In other news, my Congressman Darrell Issa was on Bill Maher the other night, and true to form, he sounded like a party-line fool. I wish we could get him some serious opposition in my district!

Sheesh, I really am dramatic today.

Anyway, here’s the comment:

1. Chris Myers Asch on January 22nd, 2008 7:25 pm (Edit)

   Thanks so much for your support of the Public Service Academy! I hope your readers will find out more about our effort by visiting our website: www.uspublicserviceacademy.org.

   Sen. Clinton has shown great leadership on this issue, but the Academy idea extends far beyond her or her campaign. This citizen-driven effort has attracted bipartisan support, and we need help to move it forward.

   Thanks again!

Awesome. Now do as he says and check out that link!

Obama might be firing up 18 - 25 year olds, but I’m afraid there’s a big gap of 26-35 year olds that still don’t give a crap. My brother-in-law said, “Who really cares? My vote isn’t going to make a difference.” My friend Sara said, “I know the voting systems get hacked anyway, so why bother.”

Um…does anyone else find this alarming? I feel like I’m being cornered by naysayers, and my only sword is hope. Okay, that was a little dramatic.

But it’s very upsetting. How do you make people care? Isn’t the current administration reason enough to vote?

NPR link

OnTheIssues.org

I posted a quiz site a while back, and I just took the quiz again. My results were the same. If my theoretical candidate gets 100%, Barack is #2 at 78%. With Kucinich coming in 3rd, Hillary coming in 7th and Edwards coming in 9th. So there you go.

But then I’ve been watching the AMC series Mad Men and I can’t help but be grateful to Hillary and women like her for women’s lib and I think I’d love to see a woman president. Can I vote for her because of that? Do I really prefer what Obama stands for more? I’m not sure…I liked his book a lot. Especially what he had to say about ending the generational poverty in poor areas. But I also agree with Edwards “no special interest” rantings.

What I’d really like to do is squish them into one person.

As for the republicans, I just like to squish them.

Anyway, take the quiz. It’s fun. And informative. After you’re done, you can post your candidate preferences on a forum. I clicked around a few and a everyone I looked at was the polar opposite of mine. It just goes to show you that what Bill Maher says is true, we are like two separate countries voting for two separate presidents. (If you don’t have HBO, like me, you can download Real Time with Bill Maher on iTunes for free!)

I wonder if anyone will really be able to bridge that gap - or cross the aisle.

I’d like to know where you’re getting your info. What’s your #1 source for voter research and candidate info?

And how about those early primaries? I would think that the few states holding out until June will have more sway than the early states. I mean, let’s say Rudy is winning the GOP nomination in February, but Romney voters really rally in March and June? I kind of wish my state was having a later primary, so I’d feel more like my vote was going to make a difference - like a close game in football, where the last few minutes make all the difference.

Any opinions on what’s better? Early or late primaries?

Oh, and one more thing about primaries. How about the states that are holding the Democratic primary on one day and the Republican primary on a totally different day. I guess there will be no way for people to keep their parties secret - if anyone cares about that these days. I hope that no one will succumb to peer pressure and vote with their friends because they don’t want any one to know they’re secretly liberal or conservative.

So, to sum it up, I’m looking for:

• Your #1 source of voter info
• Your opinions on the timing of the primaries.

Leave a comment already - don’t just get informed, get involved!