Appalachia is being utterly gutted by Big Coal. The desperate calls for change are coming from the ground up, and our candidates must now come here.

As "The Examiner" notes:

Of the remaining 566 Democratic delegates to be won, 352 will be awarded from Appalachian states. The western parts of Pennsylvania (April 22) and North Carolina (May 6) along with West Virginia (May 13) and Kentucky (May 20) will take on outsized importance in the weeks to come.

The choice is obvious...
A majority of West Virginians oppose mountaintop removal.
A majority of Americans oppose mountaintop removal.

The political will to end mountaintop removal is here.

By now, everyone is familiar with the TNGOP Chair Robin Smith who stood boldly behind the traditional GOP fear-mongering hitpiece entitled Anti-Semites for Obama which sought to appeal to those well-known GOP allies, fear and bigotry, in asserting

The Tennessee Republican Party today joins a growing chorus of Americans concerned about the future of the nation of Israel, the only stable democracy in the Middle East, if Sen. Barack Hussein Obama is elected president of the United States.

The release, according to Knoxnews.com, "cites Obama's support from Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan and other controversial figures," and was so offensive that even John McCain repudiated it. Not one to be easily deterred, however,

For anyone who is a Democratic voter in Davidson County:

Davidson County Democratic Convention
Saturday, February 9
IBEW Hall, 2001 Elm Hill Pike
Registration begins at 11 a.m., Convention starts (and doors close) at noon.

I am, of course, reminding you about this because I am running to be a delegate, pledged to Barack Obama. We now know that Obama will receive three delegates from TN-05, two male and one female. Seeing those kind of odds, I need all the support I can get, and I would be honored if you'd come.

When you register at the convention, you'll have to sign a pledge stating that you are a Democrat and that you will support the Democratic nominee in November. You will also have to indicate your candidate preference--if you want to vote for me, you should obviously indicate Obama (note: it DOES NOT matter who you voted for in the primary, just as long as you didn't vote in the Republican primary).

Thank you!

Jon talks of Barack Obama, who if elected, would be the first Gen X president.

Certainly our generation’s reputation for cynicism is not unfounded. If Obama can play his part in helping to finally heal these deep wounds in our nation’s psyche that go back forty-plus years, that will be an extraordinary thing. This, I think, is why his message of hope rings true — because we understand how powerful this could be.

But I say this while still bearing in mind Gravel’s words of caution, understanding how dangerous the fall could be. But then, courage is precisely doing that which is dangerous but necessary. Perhaps having the courage to hope is the part our generation must be willing to do for ourselves — and if we can pull that off, the rest is easy.

More at Mushin No Shin

(Cross-Posted at Silence Isn't Golden)

It sure took the Tennessee papers long enough! The Knoxville News-Sentinel has given Barack Obama a rousing endorsement:

Obama, 46, was challenged early in the campaign for his lack of experience in Washington, but he has deftly turned that criticism into an asset, pointing out that those who got us into war in Iraq and built the deficit had a wealth of political experience.

He also said that his critics would prefer that he "season and stew a little bit more … boil all the hope out of him, so he sounds just like us."

He also has said the central question is not who is ready on day one of the new presidency but who is right - who can build majorities in both Houses.

So now two major Tennessee papers have released their endorsements, the first being the Memphis Commercial Appeal's endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Hey, Tennessean, we're all waiting on you! I'm assuming that endorsement will come tomorrow morning. Has the Chattanooga Times Free Press endorsed anyone yet, are they going to?

The irony with these two endorsements is that if you believe the polls, Memphis is Obama's strongest base of support, while East Tennessee is better for Hillary. Interesting, then, that the endorsements went opposite ways. Anyone have an idea of why that might be?

UPDATE: The Tennessean will not be endorsing anyone. LAME.

While no other Democratic candidates have opened up an office in Tennessee, Barack Obama now has two.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama is opening a second office in Memphis, a Democratic stronghold in Tennessee.

The senator from Illinois already has a campaign office in Nashville in preparation for the state's primary election on February 5th.

The Memphis office is located in the Eastgate Shopping Center and will host an open house on Friday, January 18, 2008.

[Update: The Commercial Appeal reports the opening as being Today, the 17th]

Of course, you probably shouldn't base your voting habits on the number of campaign offices a candidate has, it is good to see a campaign paying attention to Tennessee. Hopefully, one will open over in the East before the Feb. 5th deadline.

It is no secret that many on the right are salivating at the prospect of Hillary Clinton being the Democratic nominee...we can debate whether or not they are right about her being the easiest candidate to beat, but it is clear they have hedged all their bets on her nomination.

Enter Karl Rove, who releases a rambling column listing all the possible ways Barack Obama can beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa. The advice is rather vague, and all encompassing...from "find a way to gently belittle her whenever she tries to use disagreements among Democrats as an excuse to complain about being picked on," to "focus on the fact that many Democrats have real doubts about Hillary."

Not to be too conspiratorial, but could the purpose of this be to give Hillary ammunition when Obama steps of criticism of her? Now, her comeback can simply be, "I see your taking advice from Karl Rove," and it will put Obama back on the defensive.

Again, brilliant!

It appears that Fred Thompson won't be alone in the State of Tennessee. In an email blast, the grassroots group "Nashville Loves Barack Obama" reports that the National Obama campaign will be coming to Tennessee to open an office.

The National Campaign is coming to Nashville and opening an office! Our official Grand Opening will be on Monday, December 17th at 6:30pm. As it stands, we are working the details out and will have more info as to when volunteers can start coming in, as soon as possible. When the details are confirmed, it will be listed on www.ObamaTN.org This is very exciting! Thank you to everyone for your efforts, because they have made this possible!

While Obama (as of the latest reporting figures) has raised more money in Tennessee than any other Democrat, most polls have shown him trailing Hillary by upwards of 20 points. Some have criticized the move towards a super-primary, saying that Tennessee will be ignored because of California and New York...will this conventional wisdom hold true? Or will we see greater activity because of the advanced primary date means that there is a greater chance the race will still be wide open by the time Tennessee's primary rolls around?