I'll admit that naming a mountain after President-elect Obama before he's even sworn in might be a tad over the top. But, it does show the overwhelming enthusiasm and support he is receiving from around the globe and the stark contrast between our new president and the outgoing national embarrassment that is George W. Bush.

The prime minister of Antigua wants to rename the island's highest mountain Mount Obama in honour of the US president-elect.

The prime minister, Baldwin Spencer, announced the plans on Wednesday in a congratulatory letter to Barack Obama.

Antigua's attorney general, Justin Simon, said he would find out if parliament needed to approve the name change. The political analyst Avel Grant said it could draw more tourists to the island. Read on...

As for Dubya? Well, the comedy world is going to miss him, but he's finding out that the rest of the world just isn't that into him:

In less than three months, President-elect Barack Obama will take office and the Bush administration will belong to history. With the president reportedly interested in writing about his White House years, publishers have a suggestion:

Take your time.

"If I were advising President Bush, given how the public feels about him right now, I think patience would probably be something that I would encourage," says Paul Bogaards, executive director of publicity for Alfred A. Knopf, which in 2004 released Bill Clinton's million-selling "My Life." Read on...

From Brandon Friedman at Vet Voice:

When the non-partisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) released their newest Congressional Report Card, they gave John McCain a "D." It's because--as we've shown--he votes against veterans. Amusingly enough, it seems the pro-Bush/McCain group, Vets for Freedom, got their feelings hurt over this. And they felt they had to do something.

That's why, today, Vets for Freedom issued a skewed response to IAVA's Report Card in the form of a "Senate Analysis." In their "analysis," they graded each U.S. senator in a similar fashion, awarding grades of "A" through "F." Amazingly enough, VFF gave every single Democratic senator a grade of "F." Go figure. I'm sure their Republican membership will be pleased. But given the situation in which they found themselves (with IAVA and VoteVets on cable TV slamming both McCain's grade and his lack of support for veterans), I guess it's to be expected. I don't hold that against them. Read on...

Of course, this is a transparent, politically motivated joke. This neocon-backed group gave failing grades to the likes of Chuck Hagel and Jim Webb, both decorated war veterans and co-sponsors of the recent Webb-Hagel-Lautenberg-Warner GI Bill (the one McCain opposed)-- but it shouldn't come as a surprise. McCain backers Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham were on the board of "Vets For Freedom," but were forced to resign their positions because it violated federal election law.

  Today's the first day of a week-long Blue America contest, I'd like to invite you to participate in. Some of our candidates have been endorsed by the DCCC's Red to Blue program, which makes it easier for them to access institutional Democratic money-- big donors, labor unions, single-issue groups, incumbents, etc. And some haven't. Blue America wants to spotlight nine of our House endorsees this week who may eventually wind up in the program but who need campaign cash to compete effectively now. These are the nine:

Sam Bennett (PA-15)- Lehigh Valley
Debbie Cook (CA-46)- Orange County
Larry Joe Doherty (TX-10)- northern Austin to Brenham and Katy
Alan Grayson (FL-08)- Orlando
Jared Polis (CO-02)- Boulder and Westminster out to Eagle County
Dennis Shulman (NJ-05)- northern New Jersey from Bergen and Passaic around to Warren County
Annette Taddeo (FL-18)- Miami-Dade from Miami Beach and Coral Gables down to Key West
Russ Warner (CA-26)- northeast L.A. suburbans from Rancho Cucamonga to Arcadia
Barry Welsh- (IN-06) east central Indiana centered on Muncie

We're counting votes at a just launched new ActBlue contest page. Whether you donate a dollar or $20 or $2,000 to the candidate, of your choice, it counts as one vote-- although you can certainly vote for as many candidates as you'd like. The candidate who gets the most votes gets a $5,000 Blue America check. The winner will be announced on Saturday, September 6th.

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Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich spoke at the Democratic National Convention today and there is little doubt his was the most enthusiastic and hard hitting speech thus far. Dennis always comes armed with truth and facts, and today was no exception. 

From illegal wiretapping, Iraq and high gas prices to playing the fear card, he blazed through the laundry list of Bush hackery and crimes and pounded the message home -- Americans to wake up and vote for Barack Obama.

"...Wake up America! The insurance companies took over health care. Wake up America! The pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing. Wake up America! The speculators took over Wall Street. Wake up America, they want your Social Security. Wake up America, multi-national corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs are being lost, wake up America!" 

Now that's the spirit! We need to hear more of this during the convention. The American electorate needs a good dose of reality. If this speech doesn't get you fired up, nothing will.

After a long, grueling primary season, Senator Hillary Clinton called for party unity and vowed to support Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee. In an inspirational speech to supporters in Washington D.C., Clinton called on her supporters to rally behind Obama:

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The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength, and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States. [applause] Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.

I have served in the Senate with him for four years, I have been in this campaign with him for sixteen months. I have stood on the stage and gone toe-to-toe with him in twenty-two debates. I’ve had a front row seat to his candidacy and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit. In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. As a community organizer and State Senate and as a United States Senator, he has dedicated himself to insuring the dream is realized and in this campaign, he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process, and invested in our common future. Now when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House and make sure we have a President who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity and progress. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do by insuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.

This was the speech that she needed to give. Senator Clinton showed class, courageousness, determination and a unshakable commitment to the causes she and the Democratic party believe in -- yes, there were bumps in the road over the last 16 months, but she never gave up and we commend her for sticking to her guns.

UPDATE: Heather has put up the entire speech up on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.  Full transcripts available here.  MSNBC will rerun the speech in its entirety at 4:00 pm Eastern.

UPDATE II: As a further sign of unity, Hillary Clinton is showing her support for Obama on the front page of her website, and Barack Obama says Thank You to her on his homepage, and wrote this inspiring message to her and her supporters.

We must now be relentless as we move forward, to do everything we can to elect Barack Obama. Visit his campaign website and contribute what you can. If you can't donate money, please donate your time and volunteer.

I can't say this makes a lot of sense to me unless all the other candidates follow suit. Otherwise, it seems like a "cut off your nose to spite your face" strategy. David Shuster and Chuck Todd of MSNBC discuss:

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AP: Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson have withdrawn from Michigan's Jan. 15 Democratic presidential primary.

The three filed paperwork Tuesday, the deadline to withdraw from the ballot, said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State's office.

All of the Democratic candidates already have agreed not to campaign in Michigan because it broke Democratic National Committee rules when it moved its primary ahead of Feb. 5. The decision by Obama, Edwards and Richardson undercuts the validity of the contest.

Other Democratic candidates had until the end of the day to decide if they'll stay on the ballot.

UPDATE: Per MSNBC, Joe Biden has opted to pull out as well.

UPDATE #2: Dennis Kucinich has issued a statement asking to be left off the ballot as well.