Hat tip to Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry, who jumped on this Obama quote he found in Newsweek about the need for collective action on global warming--all over the U.S., we imagine, there's barely concealed public policy joy about having voted in a president who's his own think tank. Obama's discussing his performance in debates, and his struggle with answering questions that miss the mark: "So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I fucking changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'." more ›

Newsweek is reporting that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is planning a "Western swing later this week". Polls released today indicate that Obama is now within striking distance of winning in McCain's home state of Arizona and both candidates are now running ads there. Could that "Western" part include us? An Obama visit to Seattle would count for the whole Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, and Montana), and with Washington's gubernatorial and 8th CD races hotly contested, Obama could help the Democratic down-ticket with a last-minute visit. more ›