Thank you for this wonderful post. I'm still occasionally choking up, in a manly sort of way, sometimes even in response to cartoons.

Lately, though, it reminds me of the Joker from Gotham City.

I'm not aware that he's ever been right about anything, but I haven't paid enough attention to him to know for sure.

:-D

DemConWatchBlog has a really interesting take on this:
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While at the phone bank, we had a volunteer from Alaska. He was here in Pennsylvania because his mom lives here, and she was one of our volunteers. He and I had a conversation one night wherein he was explaining to me why, before he came down to work, he absentee voted for Obama, Young, and Stevens. Further, why he didn't care about the potential conviction. (When I spoke to him, the verdict had not yet been announced.)

He explained that Alaska is not like the rest of the country. The state does not get the same amount of shared funds that other states do, and that things are really expensive, due to the distance involved.

He further pointed out that the only way Alaska gets funding for the infrastructure projects they need is via earmarks, and Ted always brought them dollars. Then, the state would reallocate to the areas of greatest need. The monies would go for things like hospitals, roads, bridges, schools, and other legitimate uses. While there was some graft, without the earmarks, the state could not be self-supporting, as the tax base couldn't expand much more. Therefore, Ted is generally beloved.

A lot of the people he knows believe that electing Begich would not put him anywhere near the power position Stevens holds. Similar feelings and information about Young's position.
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Presidential and Senate races look good.