It's true.  And I'm here to tell you.  You don't have to thank me.  Millions of people will be getting text messages tomorrow evening, but you, dear and faithful reader, you will read it here first.

But, before I tell you who it will be, allow me to share some of my remarkable insights with you... after the JUMP

I got inspiration from one of the comment that I found on politicalwire about super rich confused McCain not remembering how many houses he owns. I modified it to this new version of "There are some things that money can't buy" ad.

$100 for a makeover to look young

$520 for black leather Ferragamo Italian shoes

$28,500 in campaign donations from Hess Oil executives after changing mind to allow oil drilling

$50,000 for speechwriter who can attack 'hope'

$58,000 per year of taxpayers money in disability payments

$200,000 expense on "household staff" in 2007

$300,000 from Keating Five

continued after the fold..

I will put my judgement of foreign policy over the last five years over John McCain anytime."

"Of course he (McCain) was talking about my patriotism, he is trying to back track from yesterday."

"What kind of values are those , to make stuff up about people."

They (the Republicans) aren't listening to Maliki telling us we need to leave."

Those quotes were from Barack Obama today in good old Martinville, Virginia today.

The ONSLAUGHT IS ON:John McCain, More of the Same

Just got the text!

NOTE: Please don't take this as my advocacy for Tim Kaine. I have great hesitation about his record as Governor of Virginia. And I certainly don't want to make this another stupid speculation diary. But I thought it should be said.

I didn't think I would catch myself saying this even a few days ago.

But I think Tim Kaine might be absolutely perfect for VP.

When he was first mentioned as a possibility, I though, BOR-RING. Another pandering LieberDem.

But he has some formidable skills and a common-guy demeanor that could bring this whole shebang home.

People feel uncomfortable about their economic situation, and they need a guy who will reassure them about Barack Obama and convince them that he will help them in our troubled economy.

No, really.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

Granted, McCain has a lot of houses, but even the highest estimates are like a dozen. That's not some ten-digit number like 1,537,993,625 (which anyone would have trouble remembering) where if you transpose the five and the three it's a major misrepresentation.

Is McCain's memory really that poor, and if so, what does it say about his ability to be president? Or is the number of houses he has such an unimportant question to him that it's not worth remembering? That he has a house everywhere he goes, so why bother singling them out to remember?

Or maybe it's a politically inconvenient question and he knows most reporters will give him a pass.

Matt Yglesias has another possibility:

When one of your homes is really a combination of two different luxury condos the metaphysical status of your property comes into question. You’d really need to ask a trained professional mereologist to resolve the issue and can’t expect McCain to speak to it personally.

(h/t Atrios)

Dude, I just wanted to get this out there. I'll add more. It was uploaded to youtube 7 minutes ago, I stumbled on it by accident.

Script via FleetAdmiralJ

   Maybe you're struggling just to pay the mortgage on your home, but recently John McCain said that the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

   Hmm.  Then again, that same day, when asked how many houses he owns, McCain lost track.  He couldn't remember.  Well, it's seven.  Seven houses. (show White House on screen) And here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into.

Was gonna send this letter to Indiana newspapers. Already had one published last month. Suggestion? Comments?

I may be a Rhode Islander now, but I was born and raised just outside New Haven, CT.  I was born in the same hospital as George W. Bush, which is pretty darn freaky.  I also had an apartment (for a short time) two blocks from Joe Lieberman's house, in the upscale neighborhood near Yale Golf Course along Forest Road.

He's the guy you want if you want the guy we have now.

He's John Sidney McCain the Third Bush Term.

In a 3 hour marathon last night, CNN devoted an hour and a half to each of the life stories of the two major candidates for President.

The Obama segment featured clips we have all seen, along with some new, and flattering information.  The only thing they could find to say that smacked of "negative" was a comment from a Chicago print reporter, and Obama biographer, that his initial foray into politics was "cut throat".  That was followed by 3 different people saying "That's the way politics is played".

Right now, the polls are showing a dead heat between Obama and McCain in the Presidential race. This is significantly off from June numbers which had Obama up by 6-7% points.

Before hitting the panic button Democrats, or begin cheering Republicans, there are some facts/issues to consider for both sides.

This will be a very short diary because I have to go.   But there are rumors (I just heard it on CNN) that Obama may announce his VP choice today.   I have been thinking about it and my opinion is that the best choice for Obama will be Hillary.   She would be certainly better than Bayh or Biden and she will unify the party better.   And she would certainly be good in attacking McCain.

How many houses do YOU own?

John McCain is getting a lot of grief for not knowing how many houses he owns.

But let's be fair, folks.  After all, if $5 million is middle class, then surely there are many, many Americans who are unsure how many houses they own.  $5 million = nearly 20 normal houses a year (or 1/2 of a McCain house), so it's understandable that one might forget to check ones pockets for extra deeds, etc., and miss a few.

So let's test this out, and see how much of an "average American" McCain actually is.  Please log your answer below, and let's see where McCain falls on the spectrum.  

Given that McCain is an average American, and given that he's somewhere in the range of 5 houses, that should of couse be the mid-point of the bell curve.

WTF is this nonsense?

{ Previous

FCK ME

?

lbrmn got a BBRY. wnts me to teach hm to txt.

Y? whose he gonna txt?

he sez he nds to txt all hz supprtrs at a moments notice

This is good news.  Barack Obama is presenting an economic populist message that I believe will help propel him to the White House, along with showing more anger and fight.  And he's talking about how the American Dream is slipping away for many.  Yesterday, in Martinsville, Va, Obama said:

This election is about "deciding right here and right now that we are gonna fight to make government accountable to the American people to make sure that the special interests aren’t dominating Washington," Obama told the crowd of about 350 here at a community college in the southern part of the state.

"That’s why I promise you this: that if you will vote for me, if you give me that opportunity, if you give me that chance, that I will fight for you every single day. I will wake up in that White House thinking about the people of Martinsville and the people of Henry County and how I can make your life better"

msnbc.con: First Read

More, with video, after the fold.

Barack Obama is a neighborhood organizer at heart. He knows the importance of getting boots on the ground and talking to people. He wants volunteers to contact every voter in America and personally deliver his message of hope and change. dday wrote a diary about how Obama’s strategy is not about top down messaging through national ads. He is not trying to change minds en masse but one voter at a time, one contact at a time. Obama is counting on winning through registering new voters and getting them to the polls. Now we have to ask the question, "Will these new voters show up to vote for Obama?"

Oringinally Posted on The Albany Project

    I first met Paul Tonko outside the first candidate’s forum in late March, shortly before he announced his candidacy for Congress in New York’s 21st Congressional District.  I was hanging out after the debate had ended, determined to not only get back on the blogs to cover the event unlike any mainstream media outlet, but also because I’d had a crazy idea:  why not set up some extensive interviews with the candidates as well?

For a college student wearing long hair, a scruffy beard, and a Bob Marley tee-shirt, I can see where the candidates might have seen me as going out on a limb.  After I asked Paul Tonko, a 20-plus-year veteran of the Assembly who’s name is synonymous with the politics of the Capital Region, I wondered myself just what I’d gotten myself into.

The rest of the Soundpolitic Interview with Paul Tonko is below the fold as it appeared originally on The Albany Project.