After falling asleep during Olbermann (I was tired, apparently...who was worst person today?), I decided to check the election results for the MD-04 special election.  While not all the precincts have reported, its still clear that Donna Edwards shall be the new Congresswoman from Maryland's 4th district, the first African American woman to serve in Congress in Maryland's history.

Follow me to the flip for the details.....

In the race for public perception, we now have a former presidents wife who is willing to use fear and manipulation to win.  Who is only staying in the race in case the new guy bombs. And she is working to help him bomb, not win.

We have a candidate that is new on the scene, that is an inspirational, skilled speaker, but has managed to not expunge the doubts about his patriotism floating out there (thanks to the lapel pin flap, his wife's comments and now his preacher's fiery sermons).  He speaks of hope in a time of despair.  Does he really see hope through the murky situation this country is in?

You have a segment of the population that embraces his inspiring words and message,  You have the other segment shaking their heads trying to figure out what's the draw...and who this new guy really is.

Yesterday in the NYT:

Federal drug regulators said Wednesday that a critical blood thinner that had been linked to at least 19 deaths and whose raw components were produced in China contained a possibly counterfeit ingredient that mimicked the real drug.

Routine tests failed to distinguish the contaminant from the drug, heparin. Only sophisticated magnetic resonance imaging tests uncovered that as much as 20 percent of the product’s active ingredient was a heparin mimic blended in with the real thing. Federal officials said they did not know what the contaminant was.

You know...that character that has two heads, each trying to go in the opposite direction.  What the primaries continue to show is that voters in the Democratic Primaries are torn.  Split in half.

Half believe Hillary Clinton's name recognition, her husband's legacy, her lifetime experience, and her toughness make her the best choice to win in November.  Half believe that Barack Obama's vision for this country, his ability to bring disparate groups together, his hopeful rhetoric, his people-powered campaigning and his outside the Beltway mentality are the best choice to win.

Yes, she's playing hardball with Obama, even to the point of praising McCain's experience. It is sickening.  But it is what McCain and his people are going to try to exploit.  They are going to attack his weakness -- the national experience card so to speak -- and they are going to attack his strength -- his hopefiul rhetoric.

Obama now needs to make the case that Hillary Clinton has her own weaknesses.

12:15 pm -- Via Open Left:

The Washington Post has projected Donna Edwards as the winner in the Democratic primary for Maryland's 4th congressional district!

Via WTOP:

At 11:55 pm

U.S. House (Dem) - District 4 (88 of 173 precincts - 51 percent)
Michael Babula - Dem (1%)
Donna Edwards - Dem (59%)
Jason Jennings - Dem (1%)
George McDermott - Dem (1%)
George Mitchell - Dem (1%)
Al Wynn - Dem (37%)

County breakdowns with better numbers below....

Wahington Post:

TUESDAY'S DEMOCRATIC primary in Maryland's 4th Congressional District is a rematch of the 2006 contest between Rep. Albert R. Wynn and challenger Donna F. Edwards. In that face-off, just 17 months ago, Ms. Edwards, a civic activist running her first race for elective office, stunned Mr. Wynn and the state's Democratic Party establishment by coming within 3 percentage points of victory. It was Mr. Wynn's first close call since winning the seat in 1992, but Ms. Edwards's strong showing should not have come as a shock: She is a bright, tough-minded and well-funded candidate whose criticisms of the incumbent are mostly on target.

Thanks to the ingenuity of former Maryland Democratic Party Chair Terry Lierman, all eyes will be focussed on the inside and outside the beltway crowd in DC, Maryland and Virginia next Tuesday. Terry specifically chose to move up Maryland's primary to the week following Super Tuesday in order to give Maryland some relevance in choosing the Democratic nominee.  Then he convinced DC and Virginia to follow suit, setting up the February 12th Mid-Atlantic Primary otherwise dubbed the Potomac Primary.

Was the longtime friend of Howard Dean prescient or just lucky?  Who knows?

All eyes with be on this presidential race AND the tight MD-04 race between Rep. Al Wynn and Donna Edwards.

Follow me past the flip......

Via the Baltimore Sun:

The campaign manager for Rep. Albert R. Wynn has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging fundraising improprieties by Donna Edwards, his chief rival in next month's Democratic primary.

The Wynn campaign gave reporters copies of a 34-count complaint today alleging illegal collaboration between Edwards and several of the organizations supporting her in the Fourth District contest.

"There seems to be a vast, dare I say, left-wing conspiracy designed to circumvent campaign finance laws," Wynn told reporters during a conference call. "Within this scheme, her supporters are coordinating efforts to exceed fundraising limits and engaging in illegal campaign activities."

In a statement, Edwards dismissed the complaint as "a desperate 11th hour attempt" by Wynn "to deflect from the fact that groups representing the core of the Democratic party and the issues it stands for – worker's rights, affordable housing, protecting women's right to choose, the environment - have decided that they want to fire him and are supporting me."

This week on NOW with David Brancaccio, the program will look at the hotly contested race between Donna Edwards and Rep. Al Wynn in Maryland's 4th CD.  The program filmed a part of its segment at the opening of Donna Edwards campaign office in Montgomery County earlier this month.

In the DC area, the program airs this Friday at 10 pm on WETA.

Check your local PBS listings for the time and day NOW airs in your area.

Follow me past the flip for more news on the race......

Hillary is not my candidate.  Barack is not my candidate.  But I am thrilled with the results last night. The narrative is now: "The Press got it wrong by coronating Obama so soon."

The voters are still deciding this thing.  We learned from 2004 that falling in line this soon is a bad idea.  You end up with the Press' candidate rather one that all the Democrats (and many Indys) choose.  

Voters are coming out in record numbers not because of one candidate.  They are mobilized because we have reached a tipping point.  And this is a historic election. (And not just for the firsts) People are coming out because they want their vote to count.  They know the future of this country is at stake.  They know their very own future and that of their family is at stake.

This is gonna be a short diary.  But it's a point I feel I need to make.  Going into Iowa, some polls...the ones being aired on news programs...are showing Obama ahead in Iowa, with Clinton and Edwards in 2nd and 3rd respectively.  (Though practically tied, with 1% seperating the two)

If Edwards comes in first or second, he would thereby exceed expectations and be seen as gaining momentum in Iowa.  Even if he comes in 3rd, he would meet expectations. Meanwhile, Obama has much to lose, perceptionwise, if he comes in second to Clinton or Edwards.

We learned with Dean in 2004 that the key to winning in Iowa is picking up the non-viable candidates supporters.  While Kucinich is urging his supporters to caucus for Obama (this time around) if he is non-viable, there are 3 other candidates who have some support in Iowa whose supporters could impact which of the three top contenders comes out on top.

Two days ago, I wrote a diary after viewing the Bill Moyers Journal Program online. Doing a quick search on dKos, I found no one had written about Friday's program on media consolidation and only three people had written about the issue in the last week. Those diaries unfortunately had received little attention.

I felt it was imperative that dKos readers be aware of what Kevin Martin, the chairman of the FCC was trying to pull and how he tried to ignore the protests of citizens of Seattle when he attended a quickly scheduled public hearing.  I asked dKos readers to contact the FCC, their legislators and even write Letters to the Editor of their local newspaper as was suggested by Bill Moyers on air and by groups such as Common Cause.

While everyone should continue their efforts, I'd like to report that those who have already submitted their comments have made an impact according to the Nashua Telegraph (NH).

 The last time federal regulators tried to change the rules on how many media outlets companies could own, the effort bombed like a bad movie. The sequel appears to be headed for the same fate.

First, if you haven't already done so, read my diary from yesterday and watch the Bill Moyers Journal program from Friday.  Seriously, go watch it now if you missed it.  Bill Moyers does a great job of illuminating what is at stake.

Bill Moyers aired a program Friday on the latest power grab by our corporate media.    Once again a government agency, in this case the FCC, is trying to ram through new guidelines and regulations (less regulation) giving the public little time to know what's coming or to respond.  

The public has until December 11th to submit their comments to the FCC.

As per a suggestion in the comments of my previous diary, here is the Turkey Day Plan of attack.  After submitting your own comments to the FCC and writing to your Legislators, plan to bring the topic up at Thanksgiving Dinner to relatives and friends.  Urge them to take action, too.  

Bill Moyers aired a program Friday on the latest power grab by our corporate media.    Once again a government agency, in this case the FCC, is trying to ram through new guidelines and regulations (less regulation) giving the public little time to know what's coming or to respond.  

Watch the Bill Moyers Journal: Media Ownership Rules

I am shocked that more has not been said on this topic here recently on Daily Kos.  I mean, we all know the corporate media control is a problem.  But what are we doing to change that?

Yesterday I wrote a diary, MD-04: Why it's time for Al Wynn to go.  In that diary I described some of the history of Al Wynn's 15 years in Congress and why he does not serve as adequate representation for MD-04. Today I want to make the case for why Donna Edwards is the right candidate at the right time for this district.

Here I will collect the facts surrounding why Donna Edwards can truly be called a progressive candidate and one that will fight for the people of this district and to protect the Constitution of this country.

[Note: I urge you to read Donna's complete bio on her website.  Her story is unique and fleshes out who she really is and why she is so qualified to serve in Congress -- as a leader who would listen to the concerns of her constituents.  I will excerpt parts of that bio in this diary.]

Kos wrote an entry yesterday detailing how Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi was coming to Maryland this weekend to fundraise for and endorse incumbent Rep. Al Wynn in the Democratic Primary.  Many Kos readers know about this exciting race and the fabulous progressive challenger Donna Edwards and have chipped in with donations.  Others not so familiar with the race have asked what makes this race so special and why Kos is calling Al Wynn corrupt?

Here's my attempt at gathering up the facts to give a better picture as to why Al Wynn is no longer adequate representation for MD-04 and why one might view him as corrupt.

I can't believe that she is spending time campaigning on giving newborns $5000 for college when it's not clear right now that these kids will even have much of a future with the ice caps melting at a speed greater speed than predicted by previous scientific models.  

I can't believe she has campaigned on fixing healthcare in her SECOND term, when the healthcare system needs TLC NOW.

I can't believe she thinks that a vote for her is a vote for CHANGE....what's going to change?

Via the Baltimore Sun:

Congress overhauled the government's drug-safety system yesterday, giving the Food and Drug Administration sweeping new powers in a bid to better protect patients from harm caused by drugs such as the painkiller Vioxx.

The legislation, approved by the Senate without debate, is expected to be signed into law by President Bush. It gives the FDA new authority to investigate the performance of drugs after they go on sale and requires companies to post safety data publicly.

What are these new powers?