(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama)

I think some of the PUMA people in particular are making the mistake of giving John McCain the benefit of the doubt. By now, everyone has borne witness to his frantic appeals to the fundies of the far Right; I've rarely seen such outrageous and blatant pandering. I get the impression that McCain doesn't necessarily agree with everything he's saying, and that's the problem. McCain makes it easy for some of us to think, "He's just pandering during the election - he doesn't believe that stuff." Maybe some assume he won't hold to all the hard-line GOP positions once he's in office. Fortunately, there's one thing which can dispel this notion, and no one can it excuse as harmless pandering: his voting record.

Today I thought I was actually going to have a day where something wouldn't piss me off. Well the FISA thing ended that notion, but also something else I read in the news.

This week's newsletter includes another discussion about the Republican neglect of our infrastructure. Since I wrote it two more levees have failed, flooding Des Moines, which aren't included in my analysis. If you want to help the Midwest, you can go here.

Turning to the election, the attacks have begun in earnest. Republicans rolled out a whole slew of attacks against Barack and Michelle Obama...some borderline racist, some merely lies, and none all that effective. In most states Obama's popularity has surged such that if the election were held today, Obama would easily win with over 300 electoral votes, just like Senator Chuck Schumer predicts will happen. But keep in mind, this is just the first volley of attacks.

I am a high school teacher at a suburban public school in the Denver metro area.  I have experienced, first hand, what Bush's policies and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law have done to education and students.  

When I first heard Obama speak about his views of education, I knew he was on to something close to my heart:  we need to foster both creativity and critical thinking in our students.  We do this by encouraging curiosity.

More than anything else, I see among the great failings of NCLB is that it has objectified students and stripped from them their capacity for creative, critical thought.  This is what Obama wants to fix.

This is one of the many reasons I still believe that we are not getting who we need for president.

It is interesting that this came out today, but it has nothing to do with the primary campaign.

Help me in North Carolina

I want to begin by thanking each of you for all of your support and commitment over the last year. It has meant so much to Elizabeth and me. We have been very busy since January working on the causes that got us into the campaign in the first place -- helping to build the One America we all believe in.

You may have heard me talk about one of those programs called College for Everyone -- a scholarship pilot project that Elizabeth and I started a few years ago in Greene County, North Carolina.

The program is based on a simple promise to students: make good grades, work at least 10 hours a week, and stay out of trouble -- and the program will help pay for your first year of college. Since we launched this effort in 2005, the percentage of Greene County high school graduates attending college has increased from 54 percent to 74 percent.

Tom Udall is calling on you to join him in co-sponsoring the new GI Bill.  The original GI Bill ensured that a generation of American veterans were able to return from World War II and get a quality, four year college education.

The new GI Bill will ensure that post-9/11 veterans are entitled to the same full four year college education.  You can help pass this bill by adding your name to the growing list of citizen co-sponsors.

A letter from Tom, below the fold...

Wisconsin used to take pride in its university system supported by a bipartisan consensus to create a world-class educational facility.

Now, under the leadership of the GOP-led state Assembly, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its sister campuses are under assault, deadly assault.

Contact Speaker Michael Huebsch and his co-hort Representative Stephen Nass, and let them know that you object to their destroying a world-class educational institution.