Jim Himes, Democratic challenger to my Republican parents' congressman, Rep. Chris "last Republican left in New England" Shays, has a new radio ad up that features Barack Obama urging a vote for Himes.

You can listen to it HERE.

In it, Obama does more than just say "I urge you to vote for [insert Democrat here]", he talks about why voters should send Jim to Washington:

I need your help in electing Jim Himes to Congress on November 4th. If we want to change the way Washington does business then we need to send the right people to Washington. Jim Himes is the son of a hard working single Mom. He left a successful career in business to build environmentally friendly affordable housing. He's someone who will expand opportunity for all Connecticut families.

This is a particularly big get for Himes for a couple of reasons. First of all, CT-04 -- my old stomping grounds -- is a D+5 district. Obama is absolutely going to crush this district and pairing Obama and Himes is crucial for Jim to win. Shays keeps winning because Democrats and Independents keep voting for him. Obama is sending the signal that that is not an option this year. Also, in 2006, Shays's Democratic challenger went into election day with many polls having her tied or winning but where she lost it was with the anemic turnout among voters in the district's largest city, Bridgeport. We know that won't be a problem this year at the presidential level. Obama is doing his best to make sure that the surge of voters that turns out for him trickles down to Jim. Help Jim keep this ad on my parents' radio by contributing to his campaign HERE.

For all his post-partisan language throughout the campaign, Obama's actions have told a different story. At every opportunity -- particularly during the several special elections we had earlier this year -- Obama has exploited his list and his online (and off) infrastructure to help the Democratic candidates. Barack Obama knows that the larger his majority, the larger the mandate and the more change he can make. That's, in part, what this ad is about.

Larry Sabato, who recently moved CT-04 into the "Leans Dem" category, issued his "The Last Word - Almost" projections for what to expect on Tuesday. Take a look at Sabato's graphic below to get a sense of what sort of majority -- and with it, mandate -- Obama just might have beginning in January.