Democrats

div class=”dkimg-c”img src=”http://images1.dailykos.com/i/user/426/1-9-12-4.png” alt=”" height=”370″ width=”294″ //div pA new a href=”http://www.people-press.org/2012/01/09/gop-voters-still-unenthused-about-presidential-field/?src=prc-headline”Pew poll/a notes the problems Republicans are having with their less-than-enrapturing field:/p blockquoteOn the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Republican voters continue to express mixed views of the party’s presidential field.

div id=”uimg_right”img src=”http://www.dailykos.com/i/user/59419/Penn_Flag_275.png” / div id=”uimg_caption”Pennsylvania is quickly becoming a must-watch state/div /div pLooking ahead to the 2012 elections, one of the burning questions has been what will become of the key large states of the industrial Midwest. Ohio and Pennsylvania were central not only to the Obama election in 2008, but the Democratic surge to control of Congress in 2006 and 2008.

pimg src=”http://images.dailykos.com/i/user/28416/APR_11_18.jpg” width=”550″ height=”325″ //p pVisual source: a href=”http://newseum.org”Newseum/a/p pa href=”http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-17/a-decade-of-missed-chances-is-dragging-down-prospects-in-u-s-ezra-klein.html”Ezra Klein/a:/p blockquoteEven the opportunities we have seized are mostly coming undone. In one of his presidency’s more bipartisan moments, George W. Bush joined with Senator Ted Kennedy to pass No Child Left Behind.

pimg src=”http://images.dailykos.com/i/user/28416/APR_11_8.jpg” //p pVisual source: a href=”http://newseum.org”Newseum/a/p pa href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/cain-on-new-allegations-we-are-taking-this-head-on/2011/11/07/gIQAA9PkyM_blog.html”Nia-Malika Henderson/a:/p blockquote[Sharon] Bialek, a Chicago homemaker and single mother, laid out in graphic detail an alleged encounter with Cain more than a dozen years ago, and her words effectively changed Cain’s strategy.

pimg src=”http://images.dailykos.com/i/user/426/APR_10062011.jpg” //p psmallVisual source: a href=”http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/”Newseum/a/small/p pa href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/democrats-are-playing-politics-on-jobs-and-thats-a-good-thing/2011/03/28/gIQAOp3wNL_blog.html”Jonathan Bernstein/a:/p blockquoteBarack Obama’s jobs bill is getting a new shot of energy today as Senate Democrats rolled out a millionaire’s surtax to finance it.

div id=”uimg_right”img src=”http://www.dailykos.com/i/user/59419/Penn_Flag_275.png” / div id=”uimg_caption”Pennsylvania is tight, but still leans to Obama/div /div pPennsylvania is a state that has (justifiably) received a lot of attention in recent weeks, as it relates to the 2012 presidential election.

div class=”dkimg-r”img src=”http://images1.dailykos.com/i/user/73/peter-kinder-party-animal.jpg” alt=”" height=”369″ width=”275″ / div class=”dkimg-cap”Peter Kinder amp; Tammy Chapman/div /div a href=”http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_MO_0914513.pdf”Public Policy Polling/a (PDF). 9/9-12. MoE ±3.9%.

(Jason Reed/Reuters)   Sadly, President Obama won’t have the architect of the GOP’s Medicare-repeal plan to kick around on the campaign trail next year: The dream is dead. It’s not often that Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol and progressive-leaning Democrats mourn the same thing, but both are likely choking back a sob at the news that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) definitely is not running for President. Explains Ryan: I sincerely appreciate the support from those eager to chart a brighter future for the next generation.

Rocky Mountains (near Fairplay, CO) Over the last week or so, Public Policy Polling has released new surveys in three swing states Barack Obama won in 2008; the states differ a fair bit from one another, but the poll results are all rather similar.

Intrade as of early am Aug 16 It’s way too early to know what this means, as Rick Perry’s buzz is going to precede his baggage and any unforced errors. But three days after a “win” in the Iowa straw poll and corn dog eat-off photo contest , Michele Bachmann comes in on Intrade in Huntsman-Palin territory (6.7) while Perry (37.7) laps both Bachmann and Romney (31.6%) to take the lead. The Intrade numbers are more a statement on Romney, the shaky frontrunner (ex-frontrunner?) and Bachmann’s fading star than on Perry as of yet.