It has been over one hundred and fifty years since the slave trade created King Cotton. One thing is for sure: in 2008, the past is not dead; in fact the past has not passed.
Two maps, separated by 150 years show the same unmistakeable pattern. One map shows where cotton was produced in 1860. The [...]

Richard Schiff played Toby on The West Wing:
Schiff became known for his introverted and intense approach to his craft as well as his low-key delivery style, often employing a quiet, gruff tone that earned him the nickname “The Hoarse Whisperer” among many West Wing fans.
Here’s an excerpt from longer piece that will be published in [...]

Let’s say you believe that the three groups that were most crucial for Obama were African Americans, Hispanics, and voters 18 to 29.  Chuck Todd and the crew at MSNBC’s First Read think so.
Now NBC’s Ana Maria Arumi plays with the numbers and comes up with some what-ifs that are kind of interesting.
What if you [...]

Back in late October, in Fayetteville, NC, Lindsey “Huckleberry” Graham boasted that McCain had it sewn up:
“John McCain’s going to win North Carolina,” Graham said as he introduced McCain here today. “I’ll beat Michael Phelps in swimming before Barack Obama wins North Carolina. Don’t let me down because I can’t swim.”
Today, President-elect Obama was declared [...]

JedL makes some great points in debunking the emerging meme (from John Meacham, Charles Krauthammer, et. al.) that America is a center-right nation:

Democrats have won the popular vote in 4 of the last 5 presidential elections.
Democrats have won the presidency in 3 of the last 5 presidential elections.
Democrats have increased their popular vote total in [...]

The New York Times has produced a unique map (above, click to see larger version) comparing voting patterns in the 2008 presidential election with those in 2004. In brief, those areas in blue indicate regions that voted more Democratic compared to last time; the areas in red indicate regions that voted more Republican.
Other than Arizona, [...]

Lots of rumors flying about who (and more importantly when) Obama names the key individuals in his administration. Here are some of the key players:
Chief of Staff: I keep reading that Rahm Emanuel is the top guy. I have a hard time buying that, given the differences in tone and style between the two men. [...]

From UPI:
A crowd estimated at about 1,000 people celebrated in front of the White House Tuesday night after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election…Some people in the crowd at the White House chanted “O-bam-ma!” and “Whose house? Obama’s house!” The report said strangers embraced one another and people danced on bus shelters.
From CNN:
At least [...]

Just a quick reminder that I’ve added a tab along the top of the page that contains a widget from MSNBC on election results. It won’t start updating until polls begin to close on Tuesday evening, but use it after that.
UPDATE: I’ve added TPM’s cool elections results map to the page:
Starting at 6 PM Eastern [...]

Gimme a break.  Obama Loves Coal.
The desperate Wingosphere has latched on to an out of context quote by Barack Obama “discovered” in an interview posted online since January by the San Francisco Chronicle, spreading what no doubt will be a very effective last minute fear tactic designed to influence any vacillating members of the low-info, [...]