Governor Perry appointed Don McLeroy, a longtime board member and a dentist from Bryan, to chair the State Board of Education. He is a staunch conservative who has been on the predictable side of every hot issue the board has faced since he began serving on it in 1998.

I'm not sure what kind of message they think they're sending, but all this says to me is that Republicans are worried about their chances to avoid a pounding in 2008, and have reverted to the playbook from 2004: the Department of Defense actually took the time to make the ridiculous claim that Hillary Clinton's questions about troop withdrawal from Iraq are somehow emboldening the enemy.

Lance Armstrong has announced his LiveStrong Presidential Cancer Forum, a continuation of the work he did during the legislative session which resulted in the forthcoming referendum on a $3 billion bond for cancer research here in Texas.

While George and I were out protecting and fostering democracy yesterday, the Senate was wrapping up The Great Debate Sleepover, and obstructionist Republicans kicked and screamed and hemmed and hawwed until they got their way — Reid eventually ended up pulling the bill after failing to get the 60 votes they would need procedurally to overcome any attempts at a GOP filibuster, which I'm sure was in offing.

Currently, I'm sitting between George and Matt Glazer at a training session on field ops. Presenting are Kirk McPike, recently of Dallas Sheriff Lupe Valdez's office and a chief hand in the storied Dallas County coordinated campaign, and Brian Pendleton, a TDP field representative for the DNC. They are both all-around All-Stars.

We had some technical difficulties. We made some friends. We even had an Emil Reichstadt sighting.

If you enjoy a little bizarre mixed in with your politics, you will enjoy all the pictures of cots and pizza boxes from last night's all-night Senate slumber party. Senate Democrats decided enough was enough, and that the time had come to hammer something out on Iraq. DID IT HAPPEN? Politico has a chronology from the evening's events.

I got an email a few days ago from the John Edwards campaign. Tied into Edwards' poverty awareness tour, the Subject line said: "George W. Bush doesn't care about poor people." If this New York Times story on the lives of Katrina evacuees still trying to rebuild is any indication, that statement may be more true than anyone would like to admit.

What does Rick Perry's fundraising blitz in the post-veto period signify?

There was no small amount of work by Texas Democrats dedicated to making CHIP available to more children this last legislative session. There's a federal version of CHIP, and legislators from both parties have sought to increase the reach and accessibility of that program. Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly), the Bush administration is planning to veto the measure.