I am on vacation, so posting will be light. (We have found our way to Saugatuck/Douglas on Lake Michigan so far... heading toward Ann Arbor.) I'll try to catch up on some YearlyKos posts, too.
But I want to break into vacation to talk about Senator Chris Dodd a bit. A few bloggers had a meeting with Senator Dodd on Saturday. This is a serious candidate for President who should be receiving much more attention. We had a great, honest and open conversation. Unlike some of the conversations I have had with candidates he listens and hears and responds. This is a thinking man, with a great deal of experience and a lot to offer this country. (Note this on his website: "Support the Netroots")
One subject we talked extensively about was impeachment. He said something that will shape my views and helped me understand how a politician at his level has to think about serving the public. I'll characterize it here. He said that when he considers how he should be spending his time a key question that he has to ask is how is the average person understanding this. The average person might not be paying very much attention to the news, might not consider him or herself to be "on the" left or right. That person is trying to get by and deal with life's problems, like paying the mortgage, getting health care, etc. So when THAT person looks at what the Congress and Senate are doing, the question is, "How does this help ME?"
And if the Democrats spend time on impeachment they are open to the Republican lie and spin machine telling the public they are not serving THEM.
So Dodd says that unless the average person understands what HE OR SHE GETS out of Congress spending time on impeachment instead of all the other important things, he doesn't think we should aim for that. (Yes, I know that the other important things can't happen with Bush in office but the public does not)
If we want to do something about the crimes of Bush and the Republicans YOU HAVE TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW HOW IT WILL HELP THEM DIRECTLY. This is directly in line with my own writings about how we need to start to reach out to the general public with our message, to help them understand the benefits of progressive values and a progressive approach to issues.
I'm not endorsing anyone for a while. But now my top four are now Hillary, Edwards, Onama and Dodd.