For my day jobby job, I work in youth politics. One of the first questions I get when I tell people that is, "Oh, so you work with college students?" Well, yeah, I do. But I work with other folks, too -- people who are out of college, trying to find their way into a career, young parents who have some job stability and are trying to make ends meet, high school students trying to find their way, and people who don't really plan on going to college.

One of the biggest mistakes the political establishment makes is conflating "youth in politics" with "college students in politics." Why is that? Probably for two reasons. First, college students have a lot more free time and their easier to find to organize than other young people. Second, most people in the political establishment went to college and grad or law school, so for them youth=school.

Nevermind that this perception is way out of touch. Only a relatively small percentage of Americans finish a four-year degree. An even smaller portion go on to graduate or professional school. Most of us drop out of college, get a two-year degree, attend a trade school, or hop straight into the job market.

But here's some good news -- at least some people in the political establishment are waking up. Hillary Clinton's team saw an opening and they're going for it. Hillary Clinton is actively stumping for the non-college majority. While I'm far from a Hillary fan, I've got to say: Good for her. My friend Mike Connery dismisses some of this discussion (and he's got some solid arguments, even though I think he goes too far). But there's a very solid nugget of wisdom to what Hillary is doing: no candidate can ignore the realities of daily life for a majority of the electorate and expect to beat someone who is paying attention.

Who does he think he's fooling? By all available evidence, including his own statements, Fred Thompson is a candidate for president. The only place he doesn't act like a presidential candidate is in campaign finance filing.

Bad news for him: Lane Hudson, a talented young progressive, is calling him on it in a complaint to the FEC. The meat of the argument? While Thompson has told campaign finance enforcers that he's merely "testing the waters," he's not only referring to himself publicly as a candidate, he has signed a lease for a campaign headquarters, and he is already raising money for the general election. Does a couple considering a pregnancy reserve a room to deliver the baby?

Thompson is clearly testing the waters here. But they aren't the waters of a possible candidacy. No, he's seeing how much his opponents will let him get away with when it comes to flouting election law. And he's no doubt relying on his Hollywood Law & Order image to let him get away with it. Too bad for him he didn't foresee Lane Hudson raining on his parade.

The campaign cycle is becoming both longer and faster -- and the machinery of politics itself is becoming constantly more, well, political. The latest evidence is out in California, where "a team of GOP lawyers" is filing petition language to replace the standard "winner take all" rule of electoral votes and instead divvy up California's electors proportionately -- thus swinging about 20 electoral votes from the Democrats to the Republicans in 2008, if the initiative passes.

Doesn't this make sense? Shouldn't electors represent proportionally the division of the electorate itself? Sure -- and that's why ideas like the NationalPopularVote -- a plan that would effectively eliminate the distorting impacts of the Electoral College on a nation-wide level -- deserve consideration.

But doing this in a single state in a cynical attempt to swing the next election to the Republicans, even if most voters across the country prefer the Democrat? That's just a bad idea that is sure to increase distrust of the political process even more. Fortunately, some people are already organizing to stop this power-grab. If you live in California, be sure to check out the Courage Campaign's efforts to stop this power grab. There's a lot of work to be done here. The idea on its face -- real representation of the electorate in California -- is belied by the actual impact -- an extreme distortion of the electorate nationally.

It is no secret that Rudy Giuliani's children aren't big fans of "America's Mayor/Deadbeat Dad" (I noted a while ago that his son appears to have coordinated a hit piece in the New York Times on his own father -- ouch). But this really does have to be, without a doubt, the most destructive story line I've ever encountered regarding a candidate.

This morning, Slate runs a piece highlighting Caroline Giuliani's support for Barack Obama. The sad thing about this for Rudolph is that Caroline was the reserved one of the two children in terms of her outspokenness on their dad's campaign. She refused comment it appears.

But it's also clear she has good reason for her stance in the race. While dad didn't skip her high school graduation (like he did with her brother), he did leave without talking to her.

Still, good reasons or not, having your own children supporting your political opponents has to hurt. I'm wondering when someone's actually going to ask Rudolph about this.

"Mitch McConnell is a marked man."

That's the lead sentence of a news story in McConnell's home state. The worse news for McConnell is why he's in the crosshairs. It has everything to do with his role in fighting a popular congressional agenda and his lockstep march with President Bush.

In a country deeply upset about the influence of big money in politics, Mitch McConnell is one of the leading bagmen -- and one of the fiercest opponents of reform. In a country frustrated about being caught in a civil war in Iraq, Mitch McConnell is one of the leading obstructionists keeping us bogged down. In a country where the President is about as popular as influenza, McConnell has been his go-to-guy in the Senate.

No surprise, then, that his poll numbers are tanking as Kentuckians join together to Ditch Mitch.

Wow. This is like Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Condi Rice, Tony Snow, and Joshua Bolten all resigning from the White House in a single day.

John McCain's campaign, in the last 24 hours, has lost Terry Nelson, campaign manager; John Weaver, chief strategist; Mark Salter, senior advisor; Reed Galen, deputy chief of staff; and Rob Jesmer, political director. That's not a group of senior advisors. That's THE group of senior advisers.

There's some friendly statements coming from the departing folks, but they're all saying they weren't asked to leave and they all resigned effective immediately. Ouch. The McCain campaign is fighting for life right now.

Wow. Some new numbers from the American Research Group show just how pissed the country is at this administration. A majority of Americans want the U.S. House to begin proceedings to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. The numbers for President Bush aren't far behind, with the public split 45-46 on the question.

Now -- I just recently joined the group of folks who think it is time for impeachment to be on the table. But by on the table, I don't mean that we should necessarily use it. It's just now become clear that there is enough "smoke" indicating a "fire" of Constitution-violating malfeasance to justify Congressional inquiries that could end with impeachment proceedings.

Brave New Films has launched ImpeachCheney.org, a project in the works well before the polling came out. Meanwhile, MoveOn.org is demanding that Congress get the Veep to respond to subpoenas -- or turn to their Constitutional authority to oust executives who believe they're above the law.

All of this is very bad news for the vice president run amok.

John McCain, the man who would likely have won in a landslide (by modern terms) in 2000 had he won the nomination, is floundering. And that's a nice way of putting it. I'm close to telling folks to grab the forks, 'cause he's done. The question is: Why?

In 2000, McCain mobilized a youth movement. This time, young voters show themselves much more likely to back, well, not McCain. A Young Voter Strategies polling roundup shows McCain with a net unfavorable rating among young voters. Among young Republicans, he is down in the primary vote 47-28 to Rudy Giuliani. It seems just mildly possible that young voters, upset about Iraq, aren't too keen to elect a neo-conservative of John McCain's caliber.

But a lot of the Republican base likes the Iraq war, right? Surely, McCain's avid war-mongering is helping him with the base. Except it's not. Because he's a pro-war candidate in a pro-war field. And he's made the mistake of opposing torture (losing him the vote of the 'too scared to sleep' crowd), believing in global warming (losing him the vote of the big business folks), and being moderate on issues like immigration and some social policy stuff (losing him the vote of the Christian right). At the end of the day, McCain's base is aging, old-school Republicans who believe in government. And they're a tiny share of the Republican Party.

Seven years ago, when McCain could run as the socially moderate, campaign finance reforming maverick, he looked appealing, a guy out of step with Washington, not the nation. But as the guy who wants to invade Iran, cut a deal with Ted Kennedy on immigration, and stop torture -- the maverick has found a way to be out-of-step with everyone.

President Bush did what three Republican-appointed judges were unwilling to and gave I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby a commutation of his sentence today. The news comes after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to give Libby a pass.

While the far-right message machine (and a fair amount of the traditional media, like the Washington Post) in this country has tried its darndest to turn Libby into an aggrieved victim, the reality is that he was prosecuted by a Republican-appointed U.S. Attorney, sentenced by a Republican-appointed federal judge, and just had his sentencing order held up by a three judge panel with two Republican appointees. This wasn't a partisan witch hunt. It was justice -- until Bush intervened to save one of his lackies.

Worth noting, I believe -- the media establishment spent weeks spewing outrage that Paris Hilton's stint in jail and her complaining about it showed a lack of character. Today, we see a different portrait and it is this: if you spend years as a loyal helper of the politically connected, you've got a Get Out of Jail free card. The rule of law applies to those of us outside the establishment. For those inside, we're a nation of men, not of laws.

ABC News is reporting that John McCain plans to fire 50 or more staff and slash pay for others in the wake of what was apparently another disastrous fund-raising quarter. Presidential campaigns have been compared to trying to take off in a jumbo jet while building the damn thing on the runway. It takes a lot of work, so what does cutting 50 staff mean precisely?

According to ABC News, McCain's campaign at its largest had 150 staff, but has already had some layoffs. Given the figure of "50 or more staffers" to be let go, he could be cutting his existing campaign in half.

This is a new record. Four years ago, I was part of the legions of Dean volunteers who worked to make the second quarter fundraising total astounding -- and part of the group that a quarter later raised something like $15 million, blasting all previous records.

Stop the presses. Because Barack Obama is accomplishing something bigger than any of us dreamed of back then. His campaign raised at least $31 million in primary money during the second quarter. That's simply an astounding amount. Hillary Clinton, in comparison, brought in around $27 million, but there's no indication of how much of that was in general election donors.

I'm still far from sold on Obama (I currently lean to Edwards), but the strength and breadth of Obama's grassroots support is admirable -- more people getting involved is great to see.

Remember when Washington lobbyist and Hollywood actor Fred Thompson declared that lobbying is an "honorable endeavor"? The same man is now claiming that he only represented clients who deserved to be represented. Among his clients? Savings and Loan outfits that hired him to push for deregulation of the industry -- deregulation that helped trigger a financial meltdown (heckuva job, Freddie!).

But holding backward economic theories is one thing. Economics can be tricky business and everyone -- including most economists -- are bound to be wrong sometimes.

There are other issues -- we'll call 'em moral issues -- where leeway is less justified. Thompson also lobbied on behalf of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a man who did some real evil stuff. From the AP:

"He also was a lobbyist for deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was widely criticized for endorsing 'necklacing,' the gruesome practice of execution where gasoline-soaked tires are thrown over a person's neck and set ablaze. In September 1991, Aristide said: 'The burning tire, what a beautiful tool! ... It smells good. And wherever you go, you want to smell it.'"

I, too, love the smell of napalm in the morning burning human flesh. That's one sick puppy you worked for Fred. Why'd you do it?

Super bizarre news out of New Hampshire, where it appears a top aide to Mitt Romney is impersonating a police officer -- and not for the first time. The same staffer got in trouble a few years back "for having flashing lights and other police equipment in his car without proper permits." That was when he was on Governor Romney's staff -- on the public payroll, in other words.

Jay Garrity apparently impersonated a cop in order to harass both a New York Times reporter and a truck driver. I'm not even sure that this is just bad politics. It actually sounds pathological.

This, of course, comes on the heels of news that Rudy "Broken Windows" Giuliani's South Carolina campaign chair got busted for coke. Mitt Romney's bagman in Utah is being sued for operating private schools were students were subject to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. So let's just hope that these candidates are more honest and/or competent than the folks surrounding them.

In an interview destined to reshape perceptions of Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper, an old friend of his recounts to New Zealand newspaper Mitt's efforts to intimidate a mother of four out of an abortion -- an abortion she sought because her life was in danger if she carried the baby to term:

So then Mitt came in to the hospital. X thought Mitt had come to be comforting because that's what bishops do. They have a pastoral role. But she said that instead he was critical.

He said – What do you think you're doing?

She said – Well, we have to abort the baby because I have these blood clots.

And he said something to the effect of – Well, why do you get off easy when other women have their babies?

And she said – What are you talking about? This is a life threatening situation.

And he said – Well what about the life of the baby?

And she said – I have four other children and I think it would be really irresponsible to continue the pregnancy.

X said she found herself arguing with Romney about her medical crisis, said he was very unsympathetic, very critical, and said that under the circumstances in no way did he condone her aborting the child. And he left.

She was extremely distraught. Talked it over with her husband. They decided to go ahead with the abortion. After that she left the church.

The thing is -- this is exactly the sort of case that makes it clear for most Americans why abortion needs to remain legal. Because responsible parents often face tragic decisions. That Mitt has now clearly switched positions on abortion multiple times in his life -- and always for political expediency -- says volumes about the man.

Rural voters are Republicans, right? Don't we all "know" that? A new poll from the Center for Rural Strategies has many rethinking that assumption. Their numbers have 2 in 3 rural Americans thinking America is on the wrong track -- and a small plurality preferring a Democrat for President in 2008.

This shift follows recent good news for Democrats in recent years. As New West's Greg Lemon writes,

In 2006, Democrats had rural candidates, local and national, who appealed to voters, he said. That's been a big change from the recent past.

For example, in Montana, Jon Tester beat Republican incumbent, Conrad Burns in a tight race in a state that overwhelmingly voted for Bush in 2004 while simultaneously electing a Democratic governor, Brian Schweitzer. Tester is a Montana native and a farmer, who was able to relate to voters in the state's most rural counties-counties that traditionally had been locked Republican.

Putting rural areas into play spells big trouble for Republicans, used to picking up big majorities in these areas to offset big losses in urban areas. John Edwards is already advancing a rural strategy -- making a gambit to play in regions where Dems historically have predicted they would lose. Given that key swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania have huge rural swaths, this is exactly the sort of move that could guarantee a Democratic White House in 2009.