"I'm more discouraged than I was before," she said during a talk at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. "Shame on us if we don't take the momentum -- even with all the other things that are happening -- and translate it into a policy."

Edwards said she sparred with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama over his health care policy, which mandates insurance for children but doesn't require coverage for adults.

And she had almost nothing good to say about the health care plan of Republican hopeful John McCain, charging that it would simply lower costs by forcing bare-bones policies.

I am a co-leader of a parenting group, and I attend many mothers' groups with young parents. My husband and I prefer traditional names, but let me tell you, a whole lot of Americans are giving their kids "creative" and offbeat names these days. We do not want to broadcast that Democrats mock people who give kids names like Piper and Bristol and Willow.

Because the names of the kids are somewhat uncommon, silly jokes are predictable but to me the question is whether or not a blogger that wants to be considered as a serious commenter and wants to be taken seriously should allow this kind of silliness to appear as a diary.

People who think the name thing is funny are incredibly stupid.

1. The name generator is not funny. Not even remotely.
   
2. Palin's kids names aren't even that strange. Willow? People are making fun of willow? WTF.
   

Politico says Obama told Reid and Pelosi "No" when they asked Obama for help with Senate and House races:

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a personal appeal to Barack Obama: Help me grow the Democrats' Senate majority by sharing some of the $77 million you've got in the bank.

Obama's campaign said no.

Although Democratic insiders say a better deal could still come, the Obama campaign so far has agreed only to let Senate Democrats use Obama's name -- as well as those of his wife and running mate -- in mail and online fundraising pitches. The campaign has planned no joint fundraising events with House or Senate Democrats, and insiders say none is likely to be held before Election Day.

In rejecting a direct request from his Senate leader, Obama has put a fine point on the financial pressures he's feeling as the presidential race turns toward the fall.

Reportedly the RNC is raking in far more money than the DNC, but the Dems' Senate fund is still ahead of the Repubs'--but the ads for McCain may affect races in the states where the RNC does lots of ads for their standard bearer.

She told me, "you know, whatchu sleep in!  Pajamas!"

In a letter to Alaska State Sen. Hollis French, Republican Attorney General Talis Colberg asked that the subpoenas into Troopergate be withdrawn.

Colberg, who was appointed by Palin, said that state employees would refuse to honor subpoenas in the case.

I really doubt this is on the McCain radar in any sense of the word.  This would be seen as making a mountain out of a molehill if McCain cried foul -- especially with the financial headlines.

Obama would love it if he did, though.  "In these troubled times of historical proportions, my opponent has something extremely important to announce to the world about how he will fix things.  He says there's a website that makes fun of his VP's children's names."

A] top Republican operative who specializes in electing weak candidates once explained to me how you derail a powerful foe who's winning on issues. He called it the ugly frog routine.

Ugly frogs in this game can be anything that opposing candidates do or say that, out of context, puts them on the defense.

"Stick that frog right in their face, shake it all around, and say, `Here, look at this BIG UGLY FROG,'" the GOP consultant said. "Then, as they defend themselves and explain the context, real quick grab another ugly frog. Repeat often until they've spent most of the campaign reacting to your agenda."