SMWalt has a diary on the recommended list: Steny Hoyer is Mad at You. The question is -- how mad are you at Steny?

Hoyer never really did answer how he planned to expand Democratic numbers while funding the war, but did comment that "I know the base is mad at us – and I’m mad at the base." When he tossed that off, I inquired "Because.....?"  He basically said the base has unrealistic expectations in terms of ending the war, and the Dems can’t de-fund it because doing so would anger the moderates they need to win more seats in ’08.

So what to do about Hoyer?

From the urban dictionary:

1. abc gum

Already been chewed gum. Typically found under desks in school

When I was about six years old, I asked a friend who was enthusiastically chomping the pink stuff: hey ... got a piece of gum? She reached into her mouth, flashed an evil grin and brandished the spit-soaked wad in my face:

"Sure. Hope you don’t mind that it’s Already Been Chewed."

Setup ... spike. From that point forward, I did what any sensible American kid does. Upon requesting a piece of gum on or at any occasion, I’d qualify with "and not ABC, pleez!" It’s just a basic hygiene issue that we all learned at an early age in the playground.

Under the Bush administration, faith-based initiatives are all the rage. Grants flow, pitting playground wisdom against the Bush agenda on abortion and other social issues. As a result, your child may be chewing ... ABC gum.

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

The Washington Post forms a focus group of fourteen uncommitted party activists in an attempt to read the tea leaves in Iowa, after the weekend marking Clinton's first visit to the state. What are these activists looking for to transition from uncommitted to committed?

The qualifications for their support remind me of the scene from The Wizard of Oz in which the wizard demands that the motley crew assembled before him prove itself worthy by returning with the broomstick belonging to the Wicked Witch -- a task perceived as nearly impossible.

County Leaders: Knock, knock!
MD Dems: Who is there?
County Leaders: Orange
MD Dems: Orange who?
County Leaders: Orange you glad we didn't say PG Dems?

While the focus has been on African-American voters, let's take a pause. I've mentioned it before, and they do exist: White Steele Democrats.

Introducing one who has outed herself in public: Tammy Hnarakis of College Park in Prince George's County.

Recall that a month ago, SUSA released survey results with Steele (48) and Cardin (47). This poll has been disregarded since, as other pollsters have shown consistent Cardin leads of 6 (Mason-Dixon), 15 (Gallup), and most recently, 9 (Rasmussen).

What makes Steele's campaign exceptional is the GOP targeting of Maryland's historically-Democratic voting bloc of African-Americans, which, at 28% of the state's population, is well above the national average. Perhaps it's no surprise that Steele's campaign website is deliberately subdued with respect to his party affiliation, and perhaps it's even less surprising that Steele declined attending a GOP fundraiser in Maryland to stand with George W. Bush. From today's Washington Post:

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. stood on a riser shoulder to shoulder with the president, but the party's leading candidate for an open U.S. Senate seat in Maryland, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, was absent.