Who says John McCain can’t inspire this nation… With three simple words, Gonna Be Wars…

Hilarious.

Go about three minutes in to hear the appropriate response to Mitt Romney’s contention that he was dropping out of the race to deny aid and comfort to the terrorists…

Sen. Patrick Leahy sent the following letter to Vermonters this week…

February 1, 2008

Dear Fellow Vermonter,

I ask you to join me in supporting Senator Barack Obama for President.

Barack Obama has the uncommon ability to lift us up, pull us together, and lead us forward at a time when the challenges seem to be multiplying by the day. For the good of our country, and for the good of our children and grandchildren, I hope you will join me in embracing this opportunity.

The biggest national security test of recent years is the war in Iraq. It is important to me that Barack Obama opposed the war from day one. Like so many of my fellow Vermonters, Senator Obama knew from the beginning that the case for war was not made, it would not make us safer and it would distract our armed forces from bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. This is the kind of judgment we need from our next president.

One of the first challenges our next President will face is to reintroduce America to the rest of the world, no one is better prepared for that mission than Barack Obama. Barack believes that America must lead through strength, a strength that includes the finest military force in the world. But Barack has also pledged to be a world leader who will talk to our adversaries as well as our friends, a president who put diplomacy first and military intervention as our last resort. This is the kind of world leader we need in our next president.

John F. Kennedy once said that we should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes. Barack Obama offers us the hope that we will end the war in Iraq, that our children will have the education they need to succeed in an economy that continues to change all around them, that access to quality health insurance will become available to all and that our great resources will be harnessed to finding cures for cancer, diabetes, AIDS and Alzheimer’s. It is long past time we replaced the politics of fear with the politics of hope. Barack Obama is a different kind of leader – he would be a President who lifts us up to confidently meet the challenges of our times, enlisting our better angels in pursuit of goals worthy of this good and great nation, goals that are bigger than ourselves.

Many spoke early on about the improbability of Senator Obama’s candidacy for President. I know a few things about improbable campaigns. I was a 34-year-old prosecutor from a state that had never elected a Democrat to the Senate when I made the decision to run. I did so because I believed that in the wake of Watergate our nation needed fresh leadership that could help move our country out of those dark days.

The American Dream is based on a belief that we can turn improbabilities into possibilities. Our nation is moving out of another dark time in its history, and I believe the improbable campaign of Barack Obama offers just the sort of possibility our nations needs. I believe we will look back at this time and see even more clearly than we do today the convergence of this leader and this moment.

Please join me in supporting Barack Obama today by making a contribution to his campaign $250, $100, $50 —- whatever you can afford:

DONATE ONLINE

Barack Obama represents the America we once were and want to be again—leading with hope, opening the doors of opportunity to all, realizing the potential of our great nation for its citizens and as a leader of the free world. Barack Obama will be a President who once again helps us believe, “Yes, we can.”

Thank you for your support and friendship. Marcelle and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,

PATRICK LEAHY
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Vermont’s very own national blogger sensation, Steve Benen, gives a bit of background on this interesting short film by Bill Simmon, about Steve’s so-called blogging life…

Several months ago, my good friend Bill Simmon, a terrific filmmaker (and blogger), came to me with an idea: he wanted to do a short film about blogging, staring … me. Now, I’ve never been entirely comfortable in front of a camera — I’m more of a behind-the-keyboard kind of guy — but Bill is practically family to me, so I couldn’t turn him down. Besides, I thought, a short film about me would be a) good publicity for The Carpetbagger Report; and b) exciting for my Mom.

So, last summer, Bill and some of filmmaking colleagues came over and spent the day interviewing me and watching me work. It led to a short that Bill titled, “Digital Pamphleteer.” I’m hardly objective about the finished product, but it did win an award at the Vermont International Film Festival last fall and will also play at this year’s Green Mountain Film Festival.

Here’s the YouTube version…