Here's where we're at. The kid bloggers* over at Burnt Orange Report discovered that their prolific pro-Cornyn commenter, Buck Smith, was none other than Dave Beckwith, longtime Cornyn staffer, former aide to Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Vice President Dan Quayle.

Dave Beckwith, aka "Buck Smith". This picture was taken sometime within the past few years.

Beckwith is kind of a legend for the way he deals with reporters when they write stories he views as unfair or unfavorable. He once "berated [NYT's Maureen Dowd] in public on several occassions... at one point, she left a dinner distraught because of Beckwith's open hostility toward her," according to a 1990 Beckwith profile in the Washington Post.

His online persona doesn't differ.

"Buck Smith, time and again, comes in, makes fun of people, challenges them to a duel," said Matt Glazer, BOR's Editor.

But "Smith" never disclosed his true identity. He left more than eighty comments on the left-leaning BOR and in other places, like Daily Kos, since last summer.

I asked Cornyn's campaign whether they stood by all of their paid senior staffer's online comments.

We stopped by to see what was going on, and to make sure the youngsters weren't secretly making Kathie Lee Gifford brand clothing. (OK, that joke might pre-date the Academy kids.)

Seriously though, the participants not only seemed to be having a lot of fun, they were impressive in the way they came up with ideas and bounced them off of each other and provided social networking expertise to Strama, who admits he doesn't know much about the Facebook world. (I hate the new profile layouts, btw.)

Campaign academy students discuss ways to outreach on Facebook and Myspace.

Strama asks the group for an update on "Stramarama", a fundraiser they have planned for late July.

They are hearing from a diverse bunch of lunch speakers everyday. Today it was former judicial candidate John Lipscombe.

In the afternoon, the group dispersed to go blockwalking. We went with one pair to drop off literature about an East Austin block party. They were pretty fast walkers, especially when you consider we have to run in front of people to get a good shot of them walking and talking.

I asked a lot of the participants why they were spending their summer this way, and the general answer was that they - like most who wind up in politics - love this stuff. The television story is on in about an hour... KVUE at 6pm (now in HD!!!!)

Obama for Change? That's all you'll have left in your pockets!

Obama won't change me -- I'm voting GOP

High gas prices? Thank a Democrat this November

Barack Obama? Liberal like McGovern, Prepared like Carter

Barack Obama -- The Audacity of HYPE

OK to vote on your favorite, click here. The deadline to vote is 12pm next THURSDAY, July 3rd. Have fun..

Tell us: Which version of Big Bad John is your favorite?

While we started dating when I was 14-years-old, she turned me down the first time I asked her out.

It was Boswell High School Homecoming. 1972. I worked up some courage, caught up with her near the library, looked her straight in the eye, and said, "Liz, will you go to homecoming with me?" Without hesitating, she looked me equally straight in the eye and replied, "No. I'm waiting on someone else to ask me."

My father sort of warned me that might happen. When I was in the eighth grade the year before, he and I were driving home past the house Liz grew up in. I pointed to her house and proclaimed, "Daddy, you see that house? That's where Liz McDaniel lives. Next year, I'm going to date her."

He shook his head and said, "Son, I wouldn't get my hopes up."

Liz and I have known each other since we both attended Saginaw Elementary School in Saginaw, Texas. I initially got goobered up over her when I was in the sixth grade and she was a seventh-grade cheerleader. I remember distinctly going to my first pep rally in the Wayside Middle School gym, which was exciting enough in its own right. But when she came running out on the floor, well, let's just say she had me at "Go Wildcats."

Anyway, I'm thinking that I can declare a victory now that we've been married 29 years. Besides, I'm obviously over the fact that she turned me down for the first date.

West has represented District 81 since 1993. It includes Ector, Andrews, and Winkler Counties. House Speaker Tom Craddick issued a statement this morning:

"Nadine and I were so sorry to hear of the passing of our friend Buddy West. Buddy was a dedicated public servant to the people of the Permian Basin and to the state of Texas. I had the tremendous honor to serve alongside him and to work with him on issues that affect our closely linked communities of Midland and Odessa. Nadine and I send our heartfelt condolences to Shirley and the West family. We will keep them in our prayers."

Stewart's comment on Cornyn's tassel-happy burnt orange jacket:
"How did you find that jacket in adult size? Cause I'm pretty sure everyone's Nephew Ralphie wants one."

Oh, Harry. Hardest-working man in the biz.

My vantage point. Yeah, can't see most of the Commission, so I'm going by voice recognition only, i.e. "Oh, that's Chuy!"

FWST's John Moritz is sitting next to me, but his legs are tangled up in a bunch of bags and other junk.

This is dramatized for effect.

The day-to-day chief of DPS, Colonel Tommy Davis, readies to testify. I wiggled out of my corner to get a shot.

Had the Governor's Mansion not been attacked by an arsonist, this hearing wouldn't be taking on such new importance. But after revelations of security lapses by DPS, the agency is likely to take tough questions from the commission.

*Also an excellent film by Austin-based Richard Linklater.

His campaign is explaining it by saying the public system has been so gamed by special interests that it wasn't something he wanted to be part of anymore. The practical reality for the Obama campaign is that it won't have limits on its spending anymore.

Time's political guru Mark Halperin often does "his take" on political events in bullet form, and in his take on this -- he mentioned a potential impact for Texas:

"Obama will now be able to, say, spend $10 million on Texas television ads, giving McCain some tough choices to make."

Texas is an expensive state in which to run ads, with its twenty media markets, including two in the top ten (Dallas-FW and Houston-Galveston). But "say, $10 million" could go a long way for Democrats downballot, and as Halperin notes, force McCain into different spending scenarios for a state he should easily win.

Just a quick update on the controversial anti-Obama button that is shown here, and was sold at the Texas Republican Party convention last week. Here's the AP:

The Texas GOP says it'll donate to Midwestern flood victims the proceeds of a vendor who sold a racist campaign button at the state convention last weekend.

A vendor called Republicanmarket.com sold a button that said "If Obama is president ... will we still call it The White House?" The button was sold in a pavilion adjoining the Houston convention hall where the state Republicans convened last week.

Besides donating the $1,500 rent the party collected from the vendor, the state GOP also will bar it from booth space at future events. State GOP spokesman Hans Klingler says the party wants to encourage the vendor "to clean up his act."

State GOP officials also have alerted the Republican National Convention in hopes that the vendor, Jonathon Alcox, won't be allowed to sell merchandise at the national Republican convention.

The vendor who sold a racist pin at the Texas Republican Party convention last weekend in Houston apologized today and said he had no intention of creating the firestorm that has ensued.

"It's just been crazy," said Jonathan Alcox, who runs republicanmarket.com and had buttons and other items for sale at the GOP gathering. "The point is we made a mistake. I realize that now. And I apologize."

UPDATE 4:09pm: Obama campaign spokesman Josh Earnest responds: "Americans in both parties are tired of the divisive, bumper sticker slogans from the Bush-McCain Republicans. It's why Senator Obama is having so much success bringing the country together and building a nationwide grassroots movement for change that will get America back on track."

"This great city is known as the oil capital of America. But people in Houston and all of Texas understand as well as anyone that the high price of oil and gas today is causing great harm all across our economy," he says in a speech to be delivered at a 4 p.m. event open to the public at the downtown Houston's Hilton Americas hotel.

Texas Democratic women are not pleased that McCain hasn't denounced Williams for comparing rape to bad weather -- ""If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it".

McCain canceled the actual fundraiser that was to take place at Williams' house after his campaign learned of the comment. (See earlier post.) But the campaign kept the $300,000 Williams raised on McCain's behalf.

Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte and former Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Molly Beth Malcolm will hold a conference call (yes, it's the year of the conference call, too) to "call out" McCain this afternoon. A release says they plan to also discuss why Senator McCain is bad for women and how he doesn't understand the issues American women face.

This morning, when releasing a description of the man throwing a fireball at the front of the mansion, he said the arsonist "may be known to get angry and express strong opinions about the government, Governor Perry himself, the death penalty, the renovation of the mansion or other political issues."