Tonight, John Sidney McCain III will accept the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States of America.  A couple of weeks ago, John Sidney McCain III exposed himself to ridicule when he couldn't recall how many houses he owns.  One reason why this is news is it indicates his mind might not be so sharp.  Another reason, though, is that it indicates that McCain enjoys the wealth of other non-Mavericky Republicans.  Republicans like Mitt Romney.  Republicans like Dick Cheney.  

Republicans like George W. Bush.

John S. McCain III is a Republican very, very, much like George W. Bush.  He's the guy you want if you want George W. Bush's presidency for another four years.  Read below the fold for some examples of why John S. McCain the Third is the Third Bush Term waiting to happen.

As we observe Labor Day in the wake of the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, it is a good time to remember Martin Luther King, the advocate for labor.  Dr. King worked for justice for working people, and never more explicitly than in his last campaign in Memphis.  Below the fold, a look back at the Memphis sanitation workers strike, an important movement in the history of working Americans.

Frank Rich's columns in the New York Times over the past several years are the closest the Grey Lady has come to The Daily Show.  Not because Rich is funny -- though at times he is -- but because both Rich and Jon Stewart take aim not only at the 21st Century's Republican Party, but also the media.

This week's column, entitled "Obama Outwits the Bloviators," is no exception.  Written on the heels of a Democratic convention marked by strong declarations of party unity and a final night that in more ways than one may define the next two months on the campaign trail for both parties, it may be the clearest picture of the state of Campaign 2008.

Forty-five years ago, a man stood in front of the nation and dreamed of a day when all would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Forty-five years ago, that seemed a distant dream.

Five years ago, could we have imagined this day?  

Transcript of a television interview in the near future.

Host: Last week the nation saw the first delivery of a new speech by the Republican nominee for President of the United States, Senator John "Eight Houses" McCain.  Mr. McCain.
McCain: Hello.
Host: May I just sidetrack for one moment.  This -- what shall I call it -- nickname of yours...
McCain: Ah yes.

He's the guy you want if you want the guy we have now.

He's John Sidney McCain the Third Bush Term.

The DNC has increased its fundraising, raising more in July than the RNC for the first time this cycle.  The DNC raised $27.7 million and had $28.5 million on hand as of August 1, Obama raised $51 million and had $65.8 million on hand as of August 1.  

The Obama campaign's fight to define our candidate as the only one in the mainstream of American values is swinging into gear.  Not only are campaign surrogates carefully using language to position Barack Obama as the true values candidate, but the candidate may soon benefit from his participation in forums not normally associated with the Democratic candidate for president.

This strategy, if successful, will make John McCain's uphill battle this fall even steeper.  More on it below the fold.

Yesterday's Republicans for Obama conference call hosted by Jim Leach was notable for the image of nonpartisan appeal it projected -- and not simply because the people on it were Republicans.  The rhetoric employed by the Republicans endorsing Obama reveals part of the Obama campaign's fall strategy -- to position Obama as the traditional, common-sense candidate and McCain as the dangerous radical.

Such imagery runs counter to the framing of McCain as a comfortable, reliable presence and Obama as a dangerous, unfamiliar figure.  And it seems discordant with Obama's own positioning as an outsider to Washington who will bring change.  Looked at more closely, however, and this branding of Obama as being more traditional than McCain is central to the theme of Change You Can Believe In.  If pursued successfully, the rhetoric voiced yesterday will make it very difficult for John McCain to win the presidency this November.

More about the conference call and how it reveals a major aspect of the fall campaign strategy after the jump.

Barack Obama will soon release the third book in the deal he signed just after being elected U.S. Senator four years ago.  It's a campaign book, details below the fold.

This is my final diary written from Ohio.  When next I pop up online sometime later this month, it will be as a resident of Illinois.  Though I am looking forward to returning to my home state, I will miss Ohio.  I will especially miss what I have seen unfold over the past couple of years here, as Democrats have made great gains since 2004 (and, as the action item at the end of this diary indicates, are working hard to continue those gains this year).

It is not simply a matter of stagecraft.  The mass adulation Barack Obama's international tour has received, Frank Rich argues in this week's column, is a matter of the power Illinois's junior senator has amassed to shape events, become must-see television, and set the agenda for what politics are discussed in this country.

What made this possible?  The title of Rich's column gives a hint: How Obama Became Acting President.

As Barack Obama's international tour is proving a spectacular success, the campaign at home is keeping focused on building its ground operations.  And growing them, including in the Mother of All Swing States, Ohio.  Ohio is up for grabs, as polls this week show anything from a six-point McCain lead to an eight-point Obama lead.  As Kos said yesterday, "this one is pretty much tied."

Ohio is always important, and this year it is no less so.  If Barack Obama can win Ohio, he is almost certain to win the presidency.  (Nate Silver estimates that McCain has a 9% chance of winning the election if he loses Ohio...and conversely that Obama has only a 6% chance of winning the election if he loses Ohio.)  Tight polls in a must-win state mean we need to work even harder as failure is not an option.  Here's what we can do.

Summer.  The dog days in American politics.  Congress is out of session, people are supposedly on vacation and not paying attention to politics.  Running mates are yet to be picked, conventions are still weeks away, and with them the start of the fall campaign.  Polls are commissioned, with plenty of analysis of what they might mean for an election three months away.

But now, right now, is when events are unfolding that will determine whether we have Democrats in charge of the White House, House of Representatives, and Senate.  These events are not the Obama World Tour, but rather the grunt work people like you and I do in our communities.  Work that doesn't get mentioned in the Situation Room or on the McLaughlin Group.

Except now, what we do is getting noticed.  Because this work is being done on a massive scale, and if we keep engaged, we have the chance to make history this Labor Day Weekend.

The media narrative over the past seven years has been one of "divided Democrats" fighting each other while a unified Republican Party consolidates power.  Even the 2006 elections that brought both houses of Congress under Democratic control raised questions about whether progressives and blue dogs could coexist and form a working majority.

The primary season was no different.  As John McCain wrapped up his party's nomination in February, the Democralypse of the Clinton-Obama battle fed the media narrative that the Democratic Party was tearing itself apart.

Yet as I read the morning news, I notice a change.  It may be sutble, but perhaps the narrative is shifting.  More below the fold.

Democrats should not count on Florida.  Democrats should not count on Florida.  Democrats should not count on Florida.  Democrats should not count on Florida.

Too much heartache is associated with counting on Florida.  This diary does not advocate that the Democratic Party count on winning any elections in Florida this fall, be they for president, congress, or dogcatcher.  That said, there is reason to believe Florida may be the site of happier news for Democrats this year.

If Democrats were concerned that the nominee would be slow to respond to Republican attacks, there is good news to report from Ohio.  The Obama campaign has joined the Republican attacks in Ohio on two fronts: the air and the ground.  Below the fold, specifics about both moves.  (You may already be aware of the air campaign, but I write this diary because it is not the only move the campaign is making in Ohio to call the McCain campaign on its negative, false campaigning.)

Do you live in or near Ohio?  Are you interested in making sure this Midwestern swing state gets colored blue in all of the network maps on November 4?  The Obama campaign has announced its latest action in its effort to make Ohio more Democratic at the presidential level.  This action may also make Ohio more Democratic in the House delegation as well as for other races downticket.  If you are interested in helping this effort, read below the fold for details.