Worth Reading

- Centrist columnist John Avlon's latest installment, "Independent President in 2008?" is an excellent, if hypothetical, look at the possiblities for a third-party movement in the next presidential election cycle. As I said last week in "Time to Seize the Moment," Republicans or Democrats have an important opportunity to reach out to disaffected centrists who are unhappy with the current direction of both parties. Avlon notes that the twenty percent of Americans who supported Ross Perot in 1992 and their "growing number of inheritors are still politically homeless - in fact, their grievances have gotten worse. The party that reaches out to them can realign politics to their benefit for decades to come. But if they fail, in the name of playing to their base, they may unleash a profound backlash and series of events that ushers in a new era in American politics."

Alan at The Yellow Line and Rick at Centerfield both have posts up on Avlon's column as well, so stop by and see them too.

- Via PoliticalWire, interesting polling results from SurveyUSA, providing approval ratings for all fifty senators. Some worthy of note: Obama, 72%; Snowe & Collins, 71%; Bayh & McCain, 67%; Jeffords, 66%; Ben Nelson, 64%; Santorum & Inhofe, 44%.

- Marshall Wittman at Bull Moose discusses his theory that the Democrats should "Go Country" for 2006 and 2008, urging them to reconnect with rural voters, and quickly.