I was talking to a fellow Democrat a few evenings ago, and asked him who he liked for a Presidential candidate in 2008. He mentioned the usual suspects, and when I asked him what he thought about Russ Feingold, he admitted to me that he didn't know who Feingold was.

Regular readers of Pressing The Flesh undoubtedly know that I regularly shower the Wisconsin Junior Senator with love and support.

But for those of you who may not know about Russ, I thought I'd take the time to give you some information about this tough, principled, intelligent, and plainspoken man from Wisconsin:

Need to know where Feingold stands on Bush, Iraq, and the current Administration? Where other potential candidates limply provide lip service to their base about their "tough" stance on Bush, Feingold is the only member of the Senate with enough spine to put his money where his mouth is. Witness:



Need to know where Feingold stands when presented with such "national priority" issues such as gay marriage? He called the debate last week just as he saw it:

The federal marriage amendment, which would write discrimination into the Constitution, is an obvious attempt to change the subject from topics that the Congress should be addressing to a hot button social issue intended to appeal to certain factions. On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Frist plans to hold a vote on this mean-spirited proposal. It has no chance of receiving the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments. The only thing bringing it up now will accomplish is to push Congress further away from the issues it should be addressing and engage the Senate of the United States in a shameful political ploy.

You can listen to Feingold's speech from the Senate floor here.

Apologists continually criticize Democrats for tearing apart Bush Administration actions in Iraq without offering their own plans. Feingold has a plan, and it's good.

Compare John Kerry's appearance on The Daily Show (yawn), with that of Feingold earlier this spring and tell me who is more capable of communicating clearly with America.

Russ Feingold has an Everyman quality to him - he speaks directly, plainly, clearly, and you know what he said after he's through. You don't scratch your head wondering what version of the truth you just received.

Finally, Russ knows how to run a WINNING Campaign. For those for say they don't know who Russ Feingold is, or for those who believe he's not well known enough to run, I ask this simple question: Who knew at this point in the election who Bill Clinton was?

Take a look at some of Feingold's campaign ads for his Senate runs - arguably, some of the best campaign ads I've ever seen produced. They're funny, smart, and appeal to the common citizen without being inflammatory.

Get to know Russ Feingold, and if you like what you see, I would encourage you to wholeheartedly support him as we approach the 2008 Presidential elections.

Tags: Russ Feingold, Election 2008, gay marriage, censure, Jon Stewart, The Daily Show