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.

As June ends, it is clear in a number of ways that Barack Obama represents the center of the Democratic Party.  This is true in ways we may desire (the fundraising model of the campaign is now that of the DNC) and in ways we may not desire (the candidate's recent policy statements on FISA and gun control appear to run counter to earlier statements that won him support from many people).

Taken as a whole, though, I argue that we can take comfort in the fact that Obama now represents the center of the party, and that this move has the potential of making the party -- and its leader -- more progressive.  I'll explain why after the jump.

Frank Rich's column this week takes on John McCain adviser Charlie Black's comments that a terrorist attack would be a "big advantage" for the Republican candidate's campaign.  While much has been said about how Black's comments mirror ones McCain made last year (even though McCain repudiated Black's statement this week), Rich goes further to show how the McCain campaign's dependence on the fear of a terrorist attack is a structural part of the Republican campaign.  In this sense, Rich argues, McCain is relying (like all Republicans this century) upon the ideas and tactics of Karl Rove.

As George W. Bush enters the final months of his presidency, thoughts naturally turn to his place in history.  Ronald W. Reagan and George H. W. Bush had airports in Washington and Houston named after them.  Today comes word that San Francisco may honor George W. Bush by putting his name on a vital public institution.  So San Franciscans can remember him whenever they use this service.
A petition has circulated for the past several months to rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W Bush Sewage Plant.

No, this diary is not a look at the writings of A. Whitney Brown, splendid though they may be.  It is instead a look at a writer who has contributed political analysis to the web, yet may not be widely read in the blogosphere.

I write this diary because said writer is a particularly gifted social scientist who has demonstrated the ability to see the big picture over months, decades, and centuries, a skill that has value in a medium that often lives from news cycle to news cycle.  He is providing analysis of the current election season that is worth a read to understand what the nation, Barack Obama, and John McCain face in the months ahead.

Below the fold, join me for a look at what Immanuel Wallerstein has to say about the upcoming election.

On the same day that David Plouffe explains that the Obama campaign is not counting on winning Florida in order to win the presidency, the Obama campaign also announced a move in its effort to win the sunshine state.  The new state director in Florida is Steve Schale, who bragged, "When you see us reach our full staff level, you're going to see an operation the size of which this state has never seen before on our side...I would not take this job if I did not think Sen. Obama was committed to winning this state or didn't think he could win this state."

Who is Steve Schale?  Read below for details.

Of all the great things I saw over the past several days, my single favorite moment was the scene in the Chicago office where Barack Obama greeted the volunteers.  At the end of a hard-fought primary season, he could have said "yay! We did it" before sending them on vacation.  Instead he said that because "we won, we now have no choice. We have to win."  Too many people need a Democratic president for this campaign to fail.  If the Democratic nominee doesn't win, then the economy will not improve, the war will not end, all of the problems we face will not be addressed.  Too many people are now counting on the campaign for the campaign to relax.  It is now time to work even harder between now and November.

Happily, the campaign is backing up Obama's words.  Below the fold, some details on what is being done now and what needs to be done now to ensure a happy outcome in November.