This is Ed Kilgore, the new Managing Editor at TDS, and soon to be the primary blogger at The Daily Strategist. Some of you may know me from my personal site, NewDonkey.com, or from my blogging at TPMCafe, or from media appearances, or from articles I've done for The Washington Monthly, Salon, Blueprint, or other publications.

If not, all I'll say is that I'm a veteran political and policy writer, with a background in state government, the U.S. Senate, the Washington think tank scene (I was vice president for policy at the Democratic Leadership Council a while back), and political speechwriting and ghostwriting. I'm a southern Yellow Dog Democrat, with a distinctly progressive bent, some anti-Washington prejudices, and cordial relations with every element of our party, including netroots activists. I am passionately committed to TDS' mission of party unity and civil, fact-based intraparty debate.

More importantly, I've been asked to help make TDS a livelier place to visit every single day, and the go-to site for long-range strategic discussions among Democrats, including academics, practitioners, journalists, policy wonks, and activists.

On the daily front, we'll be featuring more useful links to the strategically important developments that are often buried in the headlines and buzz, and more interesting and provocative posts about emerging issues for Democrats this year, next year and beyond.

In terms of articles and roundtable discussions, we'll be focusing systematically on those bedeviling questions that sometimes divide and confuse Democrats (and political journalists), where empirical evidence can sometimes bring resolution or at least cast new light. These include demographic and regional trends in the electorate; the significance and characteristics of "swing voters" and unmobilized voters; the salience of particular issue clusters; and various theories of political communications. We'll also find ways to foster independent discussion of the strategies of Democratic (and sometimes, Republican) presidential candidates, and of the evolution of campaign organizations. In all these efforts, we will draw on the already impressive list of past TDS contributors and advisors, and constantly reach out for new voices.

On a more mechanical level, we'll soon have a new look, and will deal with some technical issues (e.g., comment threads on Daily Strategist posts) that have inhibited discussion.

To those of you who have already discovered and value TDS, please stick with us; all the qualities you've found in the past will be maintained and enhanced. If you're new to TDS, stay tuned. We're working to make sure every visit to this site is rewarded with fresh insights.