NORML has just launched "Smoke the Vote." Here's five things you can do to help:

• Register to Vote
• Tell Your Friends
• Volunteer for Change
• Stay Informed
• Donate to the Working Assets Voter Registration Fund

Grass roots activism is alive. Support it. Live it. It's your world to change.

A new Pew Research poll finds Bush losing support in Iraq:

Four in 10, or 40 percent, approve of the way Bush is handling Iraq, while 53 percent disapprove. That's down from six in 10 who approved in mid-January, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press . Bush's overall job approval is at 43 percent, a low point for his presidency, down from 56 percent in mid-January. In the new poll, 47 percent disapproved of Bush's job performance. Bush's job approval soared to 90 percent after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and remained in the 70s for almost a year after that.

Oregon was supposed to be a pushover for Nader. But he failed to garner enough signatures to make it on the ballot. Are his days numbered? Will he withdraw after meeting with Kerry? Right now he says he's going to try again to get on in Oregon.

The Miami Herald has the results of a new Herald/Zogby poll showing John Kerry has a wide lead over George Bush among latin voters in Florida. It downplays the import, saying that Kerry needs a wider lead, but we think it's significant.

We have a new candidate to cheer about and hope you reward him with generous donations. He is Jeff Seeman, a progressive candidate for the House in Ohio. He just took out an ad on Daily Kos, and says it's because of the controversy. Here's just a portion of what he has to say about the Daily Kos controversy:

Our campaign has decided that because of the recent events we will step in and advertise on www.dailykos.com. We have made this decision for two reasons: 1) We firmly believe in the First Amendment and everyone's right to say whatever he or she chooses on their own website. 2) We refuse to allow our campaign to be bullied by the right wing like they bullied Kos' previous advertisers.

We entered this campaign for Congress based on courage and the desire to stand up to the Republicans who are destroying our country with huge deficits, unjustified wars, and a blatant disregard for Americans and the challenges they face in their daily lives. We understand that the decision to launch this advertising campaign will attract attention, both positive and negative. We will make no statement regarding the actual content of Kos' controversial statement, but we will always stand up for his right to dissent. Furthermore, we are campaigning to return this country to a Democratic majority in Congress and we will not allow our message to be written or altered by our opposition.

Candidate Seeman is seeking $20 donations. Go give now. Here's his issue statement on civil rights:

by TChris

In 2000, George Bush campaigned as a compassionate conservative. After three years of tax cuts and deficits, the President can't afford much compassion or the fiscal conservatives in his base might not show up at the polls. That's a problem for Bush, because fewer Americans than ever believe that the President governs with compassion, according to a recent Washington Post poll.

The Post poll found Americans split over whether Bush has governed in a compassionate way, with 49 percent saying he has and 45 percent saying he has not. That is down sharply from February 2003, when a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that 64 percent of Americans thought he had governed compassionately.

Via Buzzflash, a new CBS poll has Bush dropping in the handling of terrorism department.

The latest CBS News poll, conducted Tuesday through Thursday, shows declines in the president's approval ratings in a number of policy areas, but especially changes in the evaluation of the president's handling of terrorism.....The president receives a 49 percent approval rating overall; his approval ratings on the economy, foreign policy, and Iraq are lower – and the lowest approval ratings he has received in these policy areas.

Six in ten Americans are following the hearings closely; 56 percent say the administration is cooperating with the panel. But what the administration is saying does not receives high marks: 59 percent say it is hiding something it knew before Sept. 11, and 11 percent even say it is lying. Only one in four think the administration is telling the entire truth.

Hollywood is united as never before--they are lining up to beat Bush not just with their pocketbooks, but with their scripts as well.

On the NBC show "Whoopi," the hotelier played by Whoopi Goldberg delivered an anti-Bush screed when the president, played by a lookalike, appeared at her establishment to use the facilities. "I can't believe he's in there doing to my bathroom what he's done to the economy!" she said.

the season finale of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO arguably best conveyed the growing sentiment. On that episode, the main character, played by the comedian Larry David, backed out of a dalliance sanctioned by his wife after noticing that his prospective paramour had lovingly displayed a picture of Mr. Bush on her dresser.

Isolated cases? Unlikely.

Producers, actors and longtime executives said that the combination of the failure to find unconventional weapons in Iraq, the troubled economy and the president's environmental and social policies had stirred the town's prominent liberals to action. "I have never, ever seen this community more united than right now, never," said Laurie David, Mr. David's wife, who has been active in organizing the creative community against Mr. Bush. "Not a day goes by when I'm not getting a dozen calls from people saying to me, `What can I do?' And it's all with one goal: to change the course of what's going on in this country and get rid of this administration."

John Kerry has broken the Democratic fundraising record. He raised $43 million this quarter--$26 million of which was raised online. There's more good news. The DNC and Democratic congressional candidates also did great:

The Democratic National Committee broke its previous record by raising $27 million, while the House and Senate campaign committees, which both topped $11 million, also set all-time highs last quarter.

Of course, Bush is still way ahead having raised over $170 million to date. So give early, and give often.

Say hello to Veep Blog-- dedicated to documenting the selection process for John Kerry's possible running mate in the 2004 Presidential Election. Will Dick Gephardt be the one? Kevin Drum reports that rumors are flying that he has the inside track right now. We think Kerry can do better.

Update: Nancy Pelosi tells Kerry to pick a veep choice by May 1.

Ralph Nader is now giving campaign advice. Today, he advised John Kerry to loosen up:

John Kerry has got to get loose,'' Nader said. "He cannot allow political consultants to put handcuffs on his mind and his imagination. He's got to stop talking Senate-ese and be the old John Kerry I knew 23 years ago.''

Appearing on Crossfire, he denied that his candidacy will take votes from Kerry:

"The Democrats should just stop whining and go to work,'' Nader said. "They should be landsliding Bush.'' .... As for liberals who call him vindictive or egomaniacal, Nader said, "That means they're out of arguments.''

Nader plans to meet and discuss strategy for booting Bush with Kerry and Howard Dean in the next month. The strategy we'd like to see from Nader is one where he drops out of the race and endorses and campaigns for Kerry.

The Washington Times reports that John Kerry is a firm foe of the death penalty, and that he is " the first major-party presidential candidate in more than 15 years to take such a strong stand against capital punishment."

Kerry supports the death penalty only for foreign terrorists. Before 9/11, he opposed the death penalty for all, because it is unfairly applied.

This year's White House race pits two extremes on this issue against one another. Mr. Bush's home state of Texas has executed more murderers than any other state, while Mr. Kerry's Massachusetts is among only 12 states that still bans the death penalty....When Students Against the Death Penalty rated the nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination last fall, it gave only Mr. Kerry and Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich perfect scores.