The January meetup was an interesting and lively evening. Our guest speaker, Mike Waltner was a candidate in a 2008 three-way Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. While he failed to secure the nomination, and the winner went on to unseat a long-term Republican congressman, Mike's experience "in the trenches" was very enlightening. He told us about the incredible amount of time and energy he had to devote to fundraising. Although he was ultimately successful (at fundraising), it was a sobering experience (the Michael Bloombergs of the world don't face this problem). He also talked about how name recognition (even mistaken recognition) can aid a candidate. Mike felt that the current situation, a Democratic president with majorities in both houses, was a rare use-it-ir-lose-it situation that the Democrats must exploit or face mid-term losses. In the discussion that accompanied his presentation, questions were asked about whether it was a top-down or a bottom-up problem: was the President being too accommodating to blue-dog Democrats or had the electorate, having voted in the Democrats, decided to withdraw - no demonstrating, no lobbying representatives, no participation in special elections?