Two images for you, which should sum it up nicely. From the New York Times:

It's hard to look at that map and see the GOP now as anything but a regional party.

In his first book, Obama wrote about how he did drugs when he was younger. Because of the penalties and the stigma of a criminal record, if he’d gotten caught he might be in prison now instead of running for President of the United States. What a terrible loss that would have been for our country. I for one am glad that he was able to “get away with” having the freedom to take his own risks and be responsible for himself and his own actions and choices, rather than just being labelled a criminal for the rest of his life.

The polls may look good right now, but I remember New Hampshire. We can't afford to sit on our hands now. Even if the polls are accurate, after 8 years of Bush I don't want another 50+1 election: I want to see record turnout and that's why we've got to press on and expand the lead as far as we can. The more people that vote for Obama, the more political capital he can govern with. Already, the Republicans are trying to sow seeds of doubt and illegitimacy over an election that hasn't even ended yet. All this talk lately about ACORN, voter registration fraud, "traitor" this and "Bill Ayers" that; it's all to start sowing the seeds of an illegitimate presidency in the eyes of those who didn't vote for Obama and we cannot let that happen.

Even my state of Washington — which is expected to vote democratic just as it has in every race since 1984 — we cannot take for granted; which is why I'm going canvassing in these final weekends, knocking on the doors of my neighbours to make sure we get as many people to vote as we can. The higher the popular vote totals, the greater the mandate and the easier it will be to brush aside delegitimatising efforts by Republicans. We need every vote; in states like Washington, California, New York and Illinois as much as in states like Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Virginia. Even states like Montana, Nebraska and Texas can help drive up Obama's popular vote tally.

So whoever you are, wherever you live: thank you for your generous donation. Every little bit helps and it will definitely help with get-out-the-vote efforts, and the time for such efforts couldn't be any more critical. But it can't stop there. Each and every one of us needs to do whatever we can to make sure we get as many people to vote as we can. If you can't canvass, do some phonebanking. If you can't do some phonebanking, talk to your neighbours and co-workers. But do something.

Our moment is now. What are you waiting for? Go rack up those numbers!

A little over two weeks ago I went to the Washington State caucuses for the first time. It was a pretty interesting experience. The turnout was pretty immense. In my precinct alone, we had around 45 people; enough that 2/3 of us had to stand because there was no more room at the table. Most of the precincts were like this, and we all barely fit into the tiny school cafeteria.

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As you’re probably aware, a week or so ago I sent an email to Sen. Patty Murray asking her to endorse Barack Obama. I finally got a response today. Here it is:

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