So, I'm in Rapid City, South Dakota. Frankly, not much to report. Knocking on a bunch of doors. Getting pretty darn good response for Herseth. More canvassing tomorrow, followed by a little DTrip field trip to Mt. Rushmore. I'm actually quite a bit more excited about than is probably healthy.

South Dakota is working about as I expected, I suppose. I'm still not sure if my cell phone is roaming, though. We'll call AT&T in a minute.

What's not working out is that the Pistons lost bad last night and the Tigers have lost 2 straight to Baltimore and 7 of their last 10. Blech.

OK, folks, I'm off to South Dakota. With a little luck, by the time I get the Tigers will be in first place and the Pistons will be booking flights to LA.

Lions beat Chiefs 17-7.

The firm of Wallace and Wallace combined for 37 points, 20 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, and one back-breaking 3-point play with a minute and a half left. The case was open and shut. Pistons win 85-78. I love watching this series. It's hockey on hardwood.

Tigers lose to KC 7-3. They got Pena up with the bases loaded and he (surprise!) struck out. Blech. This was a terrible game. Bad pitching. Bad hitting. Just generally something we'd rather forget. The real pisser is that these losses are coming against Kansas City, a team we should beat. Sigh.

It's all right, though. I'll just keep making Sheed and 'Fro jokes. That will see me through. Go Pistons!

Friday, I'm headed to Sioux Falls, SD with the DCCC to campaign for Stephanie Herseth and to get another House seat for the Dems.

The newest poll has her up eleven and she just earned the endorsement of the state's biggest newspaper, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

She's probably a little more conservative than I would like, but take a look at the issues she chooses to highlight in her platform: quality public education, good jobs, and affordable world-class health care. These are the most important issues and the ones we agree on. If you provide someone with a good education, they'll be able to get a good job to provide for their family, which is all anyone really wants. Make sure that person is going to be OK if they get sick, and just about anybody can have a pretty good life. Isn't that what this whole America thing is all about?

I'm very excited about going to South Dakota to meet some new folks and knock on a ton of doors and blow the socks off the whole darn place with a landslide victory. I can't wait.

If you can't make it to SD yourself, but still want to support the cause, let your checkbook do the walking for Herseth or the DTrip.

Most regular readers know of my desire to retake Toledo to right the wrongs of the Michigan-Ohio (spit) war.

Fewer are aware of the claim I make on Ft. Wayne, Indiana, original home of the Pistons. From the looks of it, they'd welcome the opportunity to join my great state. Welcome aboard, Komets fans!

Yes, Andy Rooney.

Make no mistake, we are at the crossroads for our country. Either we restore our honor and dignity and sense of moral purpose, or we will sputter and struggle and wane.

Now the important thing to remember is that this process, even if it is doomed to failure, will take a long time. It took a hundred years for the Roman Empire to really fall. (And even then, it didn't really fall. But that's the history major in me coming out.) More recently, it took 50 years for Great Britain to shrink back to being a good-but-not-great country. Even now, the UK hasn't become completely irrelevant.

But that doesn't let us off the hook. I think we're well into a downward trough in our great history. Vietnam. The Culture Wars. 9-11. I'm not saying we're anywhere near the bottom. We're not. But we must be laser focused on the good we can do, not the power we can wield.

Now is the time we can prove our moral purpose. The last thing Iraq needs is more guns and muddled politics. It needs roads and schools and hospitals and power lines. The plan for winning Iraq has nothing to do with the Army and everything to do with rebuilding.

At some point, I'm going to tell you how awesome this new Keane record is.

Until then, you're just gonna have to wait.

Read the speech.

Actually, I think the speech is pretty good. It made me hopeful that we can do some good in Iraq. However, I think it's worth pointing out that it was by no means a plan, it was more of a broad outline of how things ought to proceed. We don't need platitudes. We need action and results. The Times' op-ed rightly criticizes this as the perfect speech for 14 months ago, when the task of rebuilding Iraq was at hand. Only now, after a year of screwing it up, do we need the President to outline his plan? Come on. This is the ultimate failure of the Bush administration. They have no plan for rebuilding Iraq. None. Unfathomable, but true.

Finally, Saletan has a fantastic piece on Slate that identifies TSA's fundamental flaw. He's so focused on what God is doing, that he simply cannot imagine his actions have any consequences. If it occured, it must be God's Will. Bush's decisions have nothing to do with it. Why, then, do we need a President at all?

As Saletan says:

Bush's ignorance of his part in the tragedy infects everything he says. "The swift removal of Saddam Hussein's regime last spring had an unintended effect," he observed tonight. "Instead of being killed or captured on the battlefield, some of Saddam's elite guards shed their uniforms and melted into the civilian population. [They] have reorganized, rearmed and adopted sophisticated terrorist tactics." Note the passive construction. The mistake isn't that Bush failed to prepare for guerrilla tactics commonly adopted against occupiers. It isn't even a mistake; it's an "unintended effect." The cause of that effect is Saddam's "swift removal," not Bush or anyone in his administration who engineered the removal.

Anyway, John Kerry is a douchebag, but I'm voting for him anyway.

Sheed Wallace has got the whole world swingin' from his nuts right about now after making good on his guarantee. Pistons win 72-67.

That doesn't really describe the brutal slugfest I just witnessed, though. First - Sheed (10 PTS, 8 REB, 5 BLK) was good but wasn't the difference maker. That would probably be Rip Hamilton, who keyed a 10-1 Pistons run in the fourth on his way to a game high 23 points. Perhaps more importantly, though, he ran Reggie Miller absolutely ragged. As Rip put it when asked by Michele Tafoya "If I'm a little bit tired, I know Reggie is exhausted."

Special props to Tayshaun "Mr. October" Prince who came from absolutely no where to block Reggie's easy layup that would have tied the game at 69 with 17 seconds to play. The Pacers didn't score a point after that play.

Game 3 is Wednesday in Dee-troit.

Tigers waste a well pitched game by Bonderman, lose to Seattle 3-1. There's not a whole lot else to say here. We got beat.

On the other hand, Sheed has made things even more interesting with his Game 2 victory guarantee. Predictable, Drew Sharp hates him.

Here's the first blog contest: Is there anyone Drew Sharp doesn't hate?

It looks like we're finally going learn The Smug Asshole's secret plan to win in Iraq. I dunno about you, but it seems like revealing the secret plan to win in Iraq would have been a good idea...oh...I don't know...WHEN THE WAR STARTED!

If you're like me and can't stand TSA's smirking and poor diction, here's a hint: the Times will publish a complete transcript tomorrow. All the bullshit. None of the smirking.

Wonkette: Washington's Other W Twins

Let the bar debate begin: "Would you pay her for sex?"

(She's the one on the right.)

Reggie Miller must die.

But the Tigers won again to move to .500 on the year. Thanks to Craig Monroe for blowing up the 5 run eighth to secure the 8-4 victory over Seattle.

I think .500 is a legit goal for the Tigers this year. Make no mistake. This will be a big challenge. At full strength, they're a .500 team, but to sustain it over the course of the whole season will mean battling through injuries like Dimitri Young's. It will also mean the young arms (Bonderman, Maroth, Robertson) will have to keep it up all season long. They've never done that before.

Still .500 is doable. Let's go Tigers.

Tigers win again! Struggling 3B Eric Munson and 1B Carlos Pena each hit homers to power the Tabby's to a 5-0 win. Excellent pitching by the AL's 3rd leading strikeout out artist, Nate Robertson, led the way.

Iffy the Dopester thinks this year's Tigs are a sight for sore eyes. I can't agree more.

Anyway, I need a hot dog.

TNR (subscription required) features Illinois Democractic Senate candidate Barack Obama this week. This guy is the 100% real deal. I think everyone should write to him and ask him to give me a job. Campaign. Hill Staffer. I don't care. I just want to help him change the world.

Seriously, though, if you can, the easiest way to help Obama is to send him money.

PS - If you can't get the article, email me.

The Scandal of the Senate Sex Blogger is in full swing. I'm completely hooked. Follow along with Wonkette.

Fear the Fro! Ben Wallace takes out the cornrows, poofs up the afro, and drops 18 points on the Nets to lead the blowout. I don't care about the Pacers. Bring on Shaq!

Tigers lose a heartbreaker 3-2 in Oakland. A couple of bad errors (Pena, Munson) in the eighth allowed the go-ahead run to score. The good news is that the pitching was outstanding and I got to listen to the end of the game from work. Thank you, Gameday Audio.

Laslty, nice to see ex-Red Wing Keith Primeau playing well for the Flyers, winners last night in overtime to force a Game 7. Be sure to tune in Saturday. As Daily Quickie says "The third period (or, help us, overtime) of NHL Playoff Game 7s is the best that pro sports has to offer." Word.