Hillary Clinton today released her specific plan for Afghanistan. Among the points: Redesign the counternarcotics plan:

She will target enforcement against drug lords, labs, and corrupt officials, not farmers. Using the inspirational agricultural programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal as a model, she will propose to the international community and the Congress a multi-year program to develop Afghanistan’s agricultural sector to provide alternative livelihoods. This is the best way to undermine the terrible nexus of drug lords, corrupt officials, and Taliban who are now strangling the legitimate side of Afghanistan’s economy. This would mean an integrated approach to agricultural development that employs all resources from seeds to fertilizer, irrigation to electrification to roads, and markets to education.

On building the country's security and police force, she will ask NATO to step up to the plate. Isn't that was Obama should have done when he chaired the Foreign Relations subcommittee that had oversight over NATO in Afghanistan?

Barack Obama's February fundraising numbers are out. He raised $55 million.

In other news...

With Hillary's wins Tuesday, more superdelegates supporting Obama are holding off saying she should withdraw. Other superdelegates are holding off on endorsing period.

Obama faces an uphill battle in Pennsylvania.

John McCain is stepping up the inexperienced argument against Obama:

When asked if he would meet with Raul Castro of Cuba, McCain turned his answer into a criticism of Obama. “I would not in any way, as Senator Obama wants to do, legitimize an individual who has been responsible for education, repression, political prisons and a gulag,” McCain said. "I don't know if [Obama] is naïve or not, I know he is inexperienced.”

This is an update to my late night post last night, which at the time seemed just an amusing late night tidbit.

Wyoming is turning serious. There are 23 county caucuses in the state Saturday. In addition to Bill, Chelsea and Obama, Hillary's going too:

• 03/07: In Cheyenne - Hillary Clinton Attends “Solutions for America” Town Hall
• 03/07: In Casper - Hillary Clinton Attends “Solutions for America” Town Hall
• 03/08: Election Day

Does the outcome matter? The AP reports:

The number of registered Democrats has grown by more than 1,000 since the start of the year, the secretary of state's office says. Republicans have 136,000 registered voters, compared to 59,000 Democrats.

[More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

Perhaps Howard Dean wants to clarify his remarks in light of this from Marc Ambinder:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting several Republican House seats in both states (FL-08, FL-09, FL-13, FL-24, MI-07, MI-9).

Democratic strategists are worried about the DNC's tough no-compromise-on-the-rules stance and want a compromise. Dem candidates in these districts are getting pummeled in town hall meetings on the subjects of getting their delegates seated. And many of their major donors are beginning to pressure them to pressure the presidential candidates.

Michigan and Florida is EVERY Democrats' problem.

By Big Tent Democrat

Hillary Clinton supporter Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida has called for a revote:

"The Democrats in Florida want their votes counted under the principle of one person, one vote. And we're a little sensitive about our votes not being counted. And so, if the only way to do that is to do it over, then I would support that." . . . "I have written to Howard Dean today to say, if you're not going to seat the Florida delegation, then pay for another election, and let's get the party unified, and let's get Florida and Michigan seated," Nelson said, adding that if the DNC doesn't get this resolved it faces a “train wreck.”

Obviously Nelson is tacitly speaking for the Clinton campaign here. Time to put some pressure on Florids Governor Charlie Crist to put Florida's money where his mouth is.

Austin, TX Mayor Will Wynn was charged with assault two days ago. Today, he admits it and says he has been in anger management counseling for a few years. The assault stems from an incident outside his condominium when a man made fun of his name. Wynn says he let the guy "push his buttons."

A few weeks ago, Wynn endorsed Barack Obama. Obama said he was honored to have Wynn's support. Will we see him on the campaign trail?

36 hours, $4 million online raised by Hillary. Not bad.

She's now trying for $6 million in 48 hours.

By Big Tent Democrat

I can not believe Howard Dean said this:

The two state [FL and MI] parties will have to find the funds to pay for new contests without help from the national party, Dean said. "We can't afford to do that. That's not our problem. We need our money to win the presidential race," he said.

(Emphasis supplied.) Not your problem Howard? Michigan and Florida are not the DNC's problem? Sheesh. I know the DNC does not have the money to pay for this. But the problem is YOUR problem, and of YOUR making. It is our problem regarding winning the Presidential race in November. And quotes like "not our problem" just exacerbate the problem. At this rate, Dems are going to lose Michigan and Florida in a landslide.

Barack Obama is now officially a rock star, He's made the cover of Rolling Stone.

Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner and the magazine endorse Barack Obama.

Curious subtitle for the article, "Obama: the Machinery of Hope." Machinery reminds me of Chicago politics. Perhaps not the best image for him.

By Big Tent Democrat

Markos is riled up about Bruce Reed of the DLC working with Clinton on debate prep (not a policy position actually.) Funny how he missed this:

[DLC Chairman Al] From said Mr. Obama had an intellectual, and not just tactical, connection to the D.L.C.

“I mean his chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, is a fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, which is our think tank,” he said.

Economic advisor vs debate prep? Which matters more? For the record, having the DLC in the Big Democratic Tent is fine by me. I certainly would not want either candidate to cast out the DLC. I actually worry more about the DLC's Third Way Unity Schtick political advice. As From says, there is a very close political tactics connection between Obama and the DLC. It is what I complain about constantly. Some others used to complain about too. Not anymore apparently.

By Big Tent Democrat

There is something otherworldy about the suggestion of some folks that the continuing race is a lost opportunity for Obama to define John McCain. Matt Yglesias writes:

Ross explains the cost to progressive politics of Hillary Clinton's decision to unleash the kitchen sink in a likely-futile effort to overcome Barack Obama's delegate lead:

Rather, the problem is that the party is losing a golden opportunity to try to put the race away early, the way Bill Clinton more or less did with Bob Dole in 1996 - by using their enormous fundraising advantage to rebrand John McCain as a Dole-style loser while he's still struggling to get his money-raising operation up to par. As Patrick Ruffini suggested earlier this week, if Obama had finished off Hillary last night he could have been up with anti-McCain ads all over the country immediately, forcing the GOP to play defense in places it usually owns all through the summer.

Think about what they are suggesting - that Mr. Post Partisan New Politics is losing an opportunity to employ a 20th Century political tactic used by BILL CLINTON! He will put up negative ads as his first act as the newly crowned Moses leading us to the promised land of The New Politics. Yes, that will surely help Obama's image of transcending politics. The irony drips.

But the more important factor overlooked is the fact that the moment Obama is not running against Hillary Clinton, he loses his biggest Media advantage, that he is running against Hillary Clinton. For some reason some folks simply do not want to believe that a lot of Obama's appeal to the Media is that he is running against Hillary Clinton. Heck, Obama's best strategy may be to keep Clinton in the race until the Convention, even if she wants to drop out.

By Big Tent Democrat

For all the wailing and moaning from NBC, especially Punchline Olbermann, host of the Obama News Hour, and some of the Left blogs about Hillary Clinton staying in the race, one has to wonder what they think of Barack Obama's failure to win either Ohio or Texas. The desperate ones have now learned the virtue of closed primaries, arguing the Rush Limbaugh tipped Republicans to Clinton in Texas. Todd Beeton points out, apparently Limbaugh holds great sway over Independents as well, who also moved strongly to Clinton. Of course they won't like my solution, let's have closed primaries.

I have said this since Super Tuesday - Barack Obama needs to demonstrate he can win a big contested state important in the general election. He has won his home state. He has won heavily African American Georgia. That's it. It is true he won Wisconsin convincingly and seems to have electoral advantages in Colorado, Nevada (which he lost) and New Mexico. But this election will be won or lost in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida. If Obama can not perform well in these states, it will be extremely difficult for him in November. Luckily, 3 of these 4 states may have contests to allow Obama to prove his mettle and put a stamp of legitimacy on his potential nomination. I'll explain what I mean by legitimacy on the flip.