Why, you ask? Because the Mayor, Seth and Anne are all going to be lead speakers at Neighborhood Networks' "Getting Out the Progressive Vote" Conference at that place and on that date. Attending is easy. NN will provide a low cost continental breakfast and box lunch. All you have to do is go to NN's website at phillynn.org., register right there online, and then come to Drexel on the 29th.

This Conference is important not only for the perspective we'll get from Philly's present and future leaders. That will be great to have. But this will not be just a listening Conference; we've got serious business to do in turning this country around, and we're going to get right to that work on March 29.

Democrats are engaged in a pitched battle in PA right now to determine who our Presidential nominee will be. But the main thing we all have to worry about is keeping George John McBush's finger away from the trigger, his veto pen in his pocket, and his nominees off the Supreme Court. And, of course, the only way to do that is to beat him in November. Our special assignment, if we choose to accept it, is to beat him in Pennsylvania. If we don't succeed in that mission, he will be President, no matter what happens in the April 22 primary here, or in Ohio or Florida or Michigan at any time. It's as simple as that.

And the most recent polls have McCain pulling ahead or tied. Yesterday's national Rasmussen poll has McCain ahead of Obama by 4% and over Clinton by 3%. Zogby's March 14 national poll has McCain up by 5% over Obama and 6% over Clinton. In Pennsylvania itself, Rasmussen has the general election at a virtual tie as of March 13, with Obama up by 1% over McCain, McCain up by 2% over Clinton.

We can exhaust ourselves deciding which Democrat gets to carry our banner in November. Or we can multi-task, and retain a chance to make all this infighting relevant, i.e., by preparing to win in November.

NN's Conference will focus with laser precision on finally ending McBush rule. We need to start that work in April, not September. Voter registration in Pennsylvania is significantly down from where it was in 2004. Neither Obama nor Clinton can win this state without registration at the max. And Philadelphia is especially key because the supposedly "moderate" McCain may do far better in other parts of the state, including the suburbs, than a weakened Bush did in 2004. As Philadelphia goes so will go Pennsylvania and the nation.

In short, we need to be registering people -- lots of them -- now and throughout the Summer and early Fall.

The best way to register voters is for neighbors to talk to neighbors. All the evidence shows that. And that's Neighborhood Networks' specialty, neighbors talking to their neighbors. At our Conference we will have a wealth of resources to help you learn to become an effective voter enroller, right on the block where you live.

What you learn will not merely help build the book of eligible voters. It will prepare you for the Fall campaign as well, when turnout will be everything.

For some of us this work doesn't come naturally. But you can do it, you can enjoy doing it, and NN will show you how.

Here's a bonus. During the whole day you will travel from workshop to workshop with folks in your neighborhood, or one nearby. You will make contacts that you'll associate with this Conference for many years to come. And you'll make beautiful politics with them as well.

Mayor Nutter, Seth Williams and Anne Dicker want to see you getting involved with your neighbors at Drexel U on March 29. To do that, please go to the Neighborhood Networks website at www.phillynn.org. Get all the nitty gritty. And then, while at the site, please sign up to be with us, and do so now. You'll help us plan for the best possible Conference, and the best possible political outcome -- the one that you've been longing for these last, long 8 years.