Tuesday, the 3rd:

Primary day in Missouri. Dean or Kerry? I'll vote tonight for Kerry and for these reasons:
1) I think Kerry can win. And I think there is a very good chance that Bush actually can lose. I didn't necessarily feel that way entering the New Year, but Bush's rather ineffective State of the Union Address coupled with more disaster in Afghanistan and Iraq, and then the final admission that WMDs were a figment of someone's imagination (CIA or the Administration? Now that will be a fun mystery to solve) I think leaves him vulnerable.
2) I have caught Kerry on C-Span three times in the last two weeks and his addresses to large groups of people is excellent. I fail to see the boring aspects of his personality that some pundits have labeled him with. There is animation. There is passion. And he no longer seems afraid to attack Bush directly. That is what initially enamoured me with Dean. Kerry has won me over.
3) Dean's over-the-top response to the voting in Iowa really made me thing: is this truly the guy I would want carrying the Democratic standard?

Well, here we go. My optimism is very high today. I hope it lasts through November and beyond. We have to end this administration if this country has any real hope for the future.

By the way, the trip to the farm was great. Ice, snow, cold wind and lots of fine whiskey. But I am still without my first wild turkey. It will come.