A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

WHAT WE NEED: I've promised to keep these to a minimum, but I want to talk for a minute about the Hoeffel for Senate campaign, because we're at an important point where we need your help.

A new Quinnipiac poll came out yesterday regarding our race. Here are some highlights:

1. After seeing him for four terms in office, only 49% of Pennsylvanians approve of the job Arlen Specter is doing, with 36 percent disapproving. Among independent voters -- his alleged base -- the percentage of those who disapprove of the job he has done has shot up by 11 points in a month.

2. Only 36 percent of Pennsylvania voters want to see Specter reelected this year. 44 percent want someone new. Among independents, he has gone from up 48-38 to down 30-47, just in a month.

3. In a head-to-head, we trail Specter 45-29, closer than last month, and without our having aired a single ad yet. In fact, 70% of Pennsylvanians still don't know who Joe Hoeffel is. With time, and with your help, that will change.

4. Only 35% of Pennsylvanians have a favorable opinion of Arlen Specter. After 24 years, that's it?

Even among Republicans, Specter's primary lead has shrunk to 47-37 among likely voters.

I can tell you that even in comparison with every incumbent senator who has lost in the last two election cycles -- Hutchinson (AR), Cleland (GA) and Carnahan (MO) in 2002; Roth (DE), Abraham (MI), Grams (MN), Ashcroft (MO), Robb (VA) and Gorton (WA) in 2000 -- Arlen Specter's numbers are worse. Their "favorable" numbers were higher than Specter's, their "would you re-elect" numbers were higher than Specter's, and each of them lost, many by wide margins. No one had a "would you re-elect, or would you like to see someone new" number as low as Specter's is now. It's unprecedented.

We can win this race. To do so, to put it bluntly, we need your money. Money means ad buys, money means name recognition, money means respect, especially in advance of the March 31 FEC quarterly reporting deadline.

A number of you have already been generous with your support. Everyone reading this blog can afford to give something -- every $10 or $25 makes a difference, and the more, the merrier we all can be. (And, I'll stop asking.)

So click here, share some love our way this morning, and tack on an extra $0.72 so they know it's from my readers.

Thanks. Back to the nonsense.