Political Party Affiliation: 30 States Blue, 4 Red in '09 So Far  —  PRINCETON, NJ — An analysis of Gallup Poll Daily tracking data from the first six months of 2009 finds Massachusetts to be the most Democratic state in the nation, along with the District of Columbia.

Should We Envy Texas?  —  Ross Douthat has a strange column today arguing that Texas — yes, Texas — represents the sort of “model” economy that Barack Obama promised but can't quite seem to achieve.  “The president wants to govern America like a blue state,” writes Douthat.

The Prez, The Press, The Pressure  —  Networks Grouse About Obama in Prime Time  —  In the days before President Obama's last news conference, as the networks weighed whether to give up a chunk of their precious prime time, Rahm Emanuel went straight to the top.

The Message Is the Message  —  Barack Obama's ubiquitous appearances as professor-in-chief, preacher-in-chief, father-in-chief, may turn out to be the most salient feature of his presidency.  —  Photo-illustration by James Porto  —  Since occupying the White House, Barack Obama …

Ambinder  —  Marc Ambinder seems to think the tea-bagger effort to shut down Democratic town hall meetings is just working from the Dems 2005 anti-Social Security privatization playbook.  —  Really?  —  I watched those events unfold pretty closely.  And what the Dems did in 2005 consisted …