RNC Chairman Mike Duncan had to scramble yesterday to remove a country-club backdrop from his website.

Funny you should bring this up, Steve. Yesterday on MSNBC, they showed a photo of Duncan (from a website promoting him for reelection to the RNC chairmanship). In that picture the background seemed to be the same bookshelf wall paper you use when on Rachel Maddow's show. Hmmm.

Stevens refuses to return Begich's calls.

Pulling a Musgrave, is he?

In fairness, it should be noted that ErinHills seems to be a public golf course, not a private country club. That's what it says on its website.

The Iowa race will definitely be interesting, no matter who runs. Grassley isn't particularly popular with either thefundy wingnuts or Norquisty no-taxers, the two factions in control of the Iowa Republican party, and he's tied to Bush's plans to destroy Social Security (failed due to a grassroots revolt) and Medicare (a partial but not very popular success). His major pluses are that McCain once told him to go F himself on the floor of the Senate (this is Huckabee-Paul territory for the Repubs) and he's so darn lovable! Campaigns every time in overalls over his pinstripe suit, doesn't bother to change his wingtips and rides his John Deere lawn tractor to show he's a son of the soil. Iowa's sweet demented uncle, if we needed another.

Vilsack is a great speaker but an uncertain actor, handicapped during his governorship by a miserable legislature that did almost as much damage to Iowa as Bush has done to the country and a recurring failure to make the national A-list. Sophomore Congressman Bruce Braley has also been mentioned, and would make a more dynamic, progressive candidate. I'd love to see Grassley retire and Braley run against Steve (Iowa's Embarrassment) King or Tom Latham -- anything to get that do-nothing loser out of my district -- but doubt that's going to happen. My personal take on the race is that our beloved Democratic governor Chet Culver, who is almost as much a do-nothing as Latham, is just biding his time until '10 so he can run against Chuck in a revenge match -- Grassley won his seat by defeating Culver's father in the Reagan landslide of 1980 -- but I haven't yet found anyone who agrees with me. If Chet should run, though, you heard it here first.

The rotten right talking heads like Loombowel and Hannity have ruined conservatism (to the extent it wasn't already) by turning it into an anti-intellectual, loyalist, power-seeking cabal just carrying water for the upper crust and the theocons. Revolting. Powell could best show he really cares by quitting the rotting carcass of his party.

I agree with most of ericfree's analysis: Grassley would not by any means be easy pickings for Vilsack. While Vilsack's approval ratings are pretty solid, I'd be curious about how much enthusiasm those numbers represent. He is not the type of guy that people really get fired up for, and his record wasn't that stellar. Grassley breaks ranks often enough (see, e.g., goingafter fundie televangelists) that moderates and even many Dems find him largely inoffensive.

The Swing State Project's theory, however, which is rather intriguing, is that having not had a serious challenge since 1980, if Vilsack really geared up it might encourage Grassley to retire. I have my doubts - he needs to keep the seat tied up long enough for state legislator Grassley to get a little experience such that he can credibly run to keep the family seat.

ericfree is surely right about where Gov. Culver's heart lies - with the revenge match - but my sense is that Culver's staff has successfully convinced him that (a) he has to at least win one reelection as Governor before he can try for Senate and (b) that if he wants the Senate he is better off waiting for Grassley (or Harkin for that matter) to retire, that Grassley is just too hard to take out as a sitting incumbent with over a million in the bank already.

Jan Schakowsky is a nice person and her heart is in the right place, but she isn't super bright. She is ok for the House, but she isn't a good choice for the Senate.

Colin Powell is thoroughly unimpressed with the Republican electoral strategy, and has urged his party to stop taking orders from Rush Limbaugh.

They could stop taking their lead from Karl Rove, too.