It's on.

This morning I opened the paper and read about Karenna Gore Schiff's new book, Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America.

That Schiff succeeds so well has much to do with the liveliness of writing and personal passion she brings to this well-researched work. She also weighs in frequently, explaining what she finds endearing, astonishing or moving about each woman.

To her credit, the author doesn't gloss over these women's faults or liabilities: She makes clear instead that each faced day-to-day struggles that often took a severe toll on their private lives and families. In fact, these struggles are what Schiff seems to find most inspiring, as she develops the underlying idea that biography itself can become a form of social action, with the power to motivate and transform.

Take that, Rodham.

On the GOP side, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, son of House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, is now under FBI investigation. Yes, another entry into the Party of Corruption ledger. Makes the non-partisan side of me nostalgic for the Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (I) days.

Then there's this assessment from The Gallup Review:

President Bush's job approval rating is at the low point of his administration -- 36%.

If Bush's job approval rating remains in the 30% range this fall, it would be the lowest presidential job rating in any midterm election since Harry S. Truman in 1950. Richard Nixon had lower ratings in the summer of 1974, but he resigned in August of that year.

Generally speaking, lower presidential job approval ratings are associated with higher seat losses for the party of the president.

And

Americans' expressed satisfaction with the way things are going in the country, now at 27%, is the lowest it has been in more than a decade. Satisfaction has dropped a total of 17 percentage points from just before Bush's re-election in 2004.

Satisfaction is usually an important predictor of midterm election outcomes. The current level of satisfaction is similar to what Gallup measured in 1992, when the elder George Bush was denied a second presidential term, and in 1994, when Republicans took control of Congress in Bill Clinton's first presidential term.

They list a load of caveats including turnout and Iraq, although no mention of Diebold or other vote-rigging. For those reasons alone, I'll be shocked if the Dems win one let alone both houses of Congress this fall, but from Gallup's keyboard to God's Inbox, I say.

Here's the glowing ray of media hope, courtesy of geisha at Daily Kos. She quotes copiously from two new Newsweek articles, one an Al Gore interview with Eleanor Clift, the other Clift's web-only commentary on the film and his potential plans. Money quote:

By not playing the overt political game, Gore may be putting in place the first issue-driven campaign of the 21st century, one that is premised on a big moral challenge that is becoming more real with soaring gas prices and uncertain oil supplies. A senior Democrat who once ran for the White House himself but harbors no illusions the party will turn to him in 2008 looks at Gore and marvels, "This guy is running the best campaign I"ve seen for president."

(I'm thinking Sen. Joe Biden for the non-attribution.)

If it's true, then Al is running on exactly that thing the Dems have been kicking themselves about for two years: values. He's going for a values campaign, but unlike his hapless fellow Dems, isn't confusing it with a religious campaign. Because if it's straight religion, GOP win.

The interesting thing is, Al's even wishfully positive about Bush:

But you know the temptation to reject the truth and try to manufacture your own reality is what got us into Iraq;it's what got us into these deficits. At some point, reality has its day. I hope they'll change. I think there is a chance they'll change. You know Winston Churchill once said that the American people generally do the right thing after first exhausting every other alternative. And maybe after exhausting every other alternative, Bush will do the right thing on this. I'm not going to hold my breath, but I do think that there's a chance.

Guess he's not shrill...hmm...what else will Fox and Its Friends try to hit him with? Or has all this shit exhausted even them?

I urge you to check out the ending of geisha's article, a Gore-positive but intriguingly credible prediction of what could happen in 2008. It would be unfair for me to reprint the whole thing, but here's a taste of the climax:

Three months before the primary, Al Gore decides to run for president with no money in the bank.

One month before the primary, Al Gore has collected a huge amount of cash from small donors. Hillary Clinton still has had the most cash on hand and is still leading in the poll.

IA: Hillary: 30, Al Gore: 25 Mark Warner: 10, Edward: 8, Kerry: 5 ...
NH: Al Gore: 40, Hillary: 35, Mark Warner: 10, Kerry: 1 ...

Tick tick tick.