“Not to be outdone by his potential opponent for Congress in 2010, Rob Miller, who has raised more than $350,000 since Wilson’s now infamous “You Lie” outburst, the congressman has a new video in which he explains his behavior and then goes on to ask for… campaign cash.”

Yes, this week’s most important political event, well the one getting the most coverage, is Obama’s healthcare speech tonight. 

But, E.J. Dionne makes the convincing case that the Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments a second time for the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is truly the more important of the two events. 

“Even the word “radical” does not capture the extent to which the justices could turn our political system upside down. Will it use a case originally brought on a narrow issue to bring our politics back to the corruption of the Gilded Age?,” he writes. 

If you thought politics were corrupt before, with corporations weilding too much influence in the American political arena, the Roberts Court has a chance to really open the flood gates and let corporations run wild.  Scary indeed.

Matt at Unlikely Words has created a time capsule of sorts for the 2008 election.  He’s rounded up just about everything dating back to the speculation of who would even run for the presidency.  It’s pretty impressive.

I wanted to create something to look at a couple years from now to remember the election and hopefully present a good representation of what both sides of America were feeling on that day as evidenced by the response in the press and on the blogs. I didn’t capture everything, though I’ve certainly tried. I want to consume all of this information, have it put on a microchip in my brain. Until that’s possible, I just read a lot. I don’t know how many of these links will work in a year or 5 years, (when this doc might be helpful to show younger people who may not have ever remembered having a president who isn’t black), but here’s what I’ve got.

“Included are lots of videos, links to articles, reactions from the author’s friends, and even Facebook status messages as the election results rolled in, covering a nice cross-section of citizens from top politicians to the big media, to blogs, to normal people celebrating on the streets. However, I have a feeling that due to linkrot, much of this may not even be available online,” so says Jason Kottke.

Which will probably be true in a year or five years time.  But you can’t blame Matt for trying to put something like this together.

Interesting regression analysis by Nate Silver over at 538.  He’s predicting that once the Minnesota recount is completed that Al Franken will beat Norm Coleman by 27 votes.  Nate was right just about every single time throughout the Democratic primaries and again during the presidential race.  Interesting to see if this shakes out.  If it does there is no telling how high his stock will rise as a political analysis.  [fivethirtyeight.com]

Perhaps one of the most fascinating things I’ve read in a few weeks.  “This is not a political blog. However, this is a story I couldn’t pass up: the story of how voting patterns in the 2008 election were essentially determined 85 million years ago, in the Cretaceous Period. It’s also a story about how soil science relates to political science, by way of historical chance.”  There are also maps involved.  Lots of maps. The convergence of history, geography and politics – what more could you want? [Vigorous North via Kottke]

A little late on this.  You’ll have to forgive me.  But on election night, Obama for America campaign photographer David Katz shot some wonderful behind the scenes photos of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their families watching the election results come in from their hotel room in Chicago.

The Big Picture also has some amazing photos of Obama on the campaign trail.  It’s hard not to crystalize that night, that singular moment in time for what it was.  I hope that feeling is not forgotten soon, because unlike dead rockstars, Obama actually has to deliver.  That is, he’s become the inverse of dead rockstars.  We mythologize Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, et. al. because they never had the opportunity to suck. The same goes for JFK and his brother RFK.

The easy part for Obama is over.  He’s won; his “now what moment” a la Dustin Hoffman at the end of The Graduate has already occurred, or if it hasn’t then he has very little time to actually have that kind of moment.  The only downside to giving people hope and running on a campaign of positive change is that there is the pressure to actually deliver it.  Most historians wouldn’t revere James K. Polk if he hadn’t accomplished what he said he would during his one and only term as US President.  That is the reality Obama is facing.

Will everyone who supported Obama still be dreamy-eyed if he doesn’t deliver the change we need and want?  And furthermore how is he going to drown out the buzz of advice from know-it-alls like Al Gore on climate change, Mark Cuban on entrepreneurs, or the American food policy.  It’s probably not the end of people trying to advise him as he ushers America into the promise of it’s fourth republic.

Tuesday was a great night.  So much so that my computer basically said I’m done with you when I woke up Wednesday morning.  Something about a hal.dll file being corrupted.

Anyway, once Jesse Jackson started crying and then Oprah, the floodgates opened.  For real.   It was like the great flood when he promised his two daughters a new puppy.

Damn you Obama for going the new puppy route!  And forcing me to hide my man tears in front of so many people.

The truth is though, the stories that fascinate me the most about politics are not the end results, it is not Wil.I.Am appearing R2D2 holograph style on CNN, or the long protracted ballot recounts or whether John McCain blinks too much.

No, rather what interests me are the long form stories, the anecdotes, the setbacks, the frustrations, the triumphs and the chess-like gambits that are revealed afterward.  It’s the stories of Obama not wanting to run for President because he was worried about the effects on his daughters and wife or how an honorable man like John McCain ended so off course until he redeemed himself with a gracious concession speech.

Many times journalists get embedded with a campaign, but they’re under embargo to write anything until after the election.  And it is when the election is over that the good stuff comes out.  You can see it now with Sarah Palin. MORE »

If you walk into Starbucks today and tell them you voted, you get a free cup of coffee. If you walk into Ben & Jerry’s today and tell them you voted, you get a free scoop of ice cream. If you walk into Krispy Kreme today and tell them you voted, you get a free donut. If you walk into Babeland today and tell them you voted, you get a free sex toy. So vote! [via Rex]

I’m not one to read tea leaves or believe that one seemingly random event dictates the outcome of another seemingly random event.  But I’m also a Red Sox fan, which means that for the better part of my life I believed that the Red Sox would never win the World Series because their owner sold Babe Ruth.

I couldn’t sleep last night, it was like being a kid on Christmas Eve.  The past two years has all led up to today and for the first time in my life, I really feel like this election outcome matters.  And you want to know why I’m feeling pretty good?

Because the Washington Redskins lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers last night on Monday Night Football.

Since 1936, the last Redskins home game before an election has oddly predicted the outcome of the election. Yes, like Puxatawnee Phil has predicted the length of winter in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Here’s how it works: If the Redskins win their home game then the party occupying the White House wins the election; if the Redskins lose their game it means the party not occupying the White House will win the election.

What that means for superstitious liberals and crazy-ass Red Sox fans is that last night’s 23-6 loss by the Redskins at home essentially has wrapped up the election for the Senator from Illinois.  I’m glad that’s what it took for me to feel good about tonight.

The recent announcement that the Christian Science Monitor will forgo their print publication in favor of online only rekindled my love for the publication, which began by falling in love with their building in Boston as a teenager.  Don’t ask how those two things go together, but in my mind one led directly to the other.

Anyway, in perusing their site I came across an article by Jonathan Curley, a southern conservative banker who voted for the Bush family three times in the last two decades.  As he describes himself it’s clear that he is not exactly Sen. Barack Obama’s target voter and yet, at his wife’s insistence he spent a Sunday afternoon canvassing for the Illinois Senator.  Here is what he learned:

I learned in just those three hours that this election is not about what we think of as the “big things.”

It’s not about taxes. I’m pretty sure mine are going to go up no matter who is elected.

It’s not about foreign policy. I think we’ll figure out a way to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan no matter which party controls the White House, mostly because the people who live there don’t want us there anymore.

I don’t see either of the candidates as having all the answers.

I’ve learned that this election is about the heart of America. It’s about the young people who are losing hope and the old people who have been forgotten. It’s about those who have worked all their lives and never fully realized the promise of America, but see that promise for their grandchildren in Barack Obama. The poor see a chance, when they often have few. I saw hope in the eyes and faces in those doorways.

My wife and I went out last weekend to knock on more doors. But this time, not because it was her idea. I don’t know what it’s going to do for the Obama campaign, but it’s doing a lot for me.

And that is why, more than anything else, why I voted for Obama.  Not because I’ve drank the Kool-Aid, as so many derisively say.  But because when it comes down to it voting for McCain is like deciding to leave your car in neutral.  The country is probably going to idle for another four years.  Sure, you might roll down the hill at some point, but chances are you’re more likely to just stay in place.  At least with Obama it’s like putting the car in drive – sure you may crash at some point, but you’ve got to take the shot.

In case you missed it last night like I did.

Best one wins a high five from yours truly.  I’ll start.  John McCain doesn’t need George Bush to blow this election for him.

Also to think about: Obama spoke before 100,000 plus in Denver on Sunday and figured he had so much money in the bank he decided to purchase advertising on the side of the Straight Talk Express. Ouch! (and yes, I’m aware that last one is from The Onion but it still made me laugh)

Discuss amongst yourselves.

But the clip is hilarious and it only makes me wonder why Ron Howard doesn’t make more comedies.  I would liike him much more as a filmmaker if he injected some humor into his stories again.  Actually, he’s only made three out and out comedies: Parenthood, Splash, and EdTv. EdTV is probably why he hasn’t made a comedy in over a decade, but anyone watching his endorsement of Barack Obama would find it humorous, strange, endearing with the right mix of comedy and gravitas.

Here’s a decent interview with the director on how the video above fell into place.