Forget Joe the Plumber, I Like Mike

Here's a clipping from Ben Smith's column at Politico, quoting an e-mail from Cincinnati -

"Upon arriving at the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Cincinnati to vote early today I happened upon some friends of my mother's — three small, elderly Jewish women. They were quite upset as they were being refused admitance to the polling location due to their Obama T-Shirts, hats and buttons. Apparently you cannot wear Obama/McCain gear into polling locations here in Ohio.... They were practically on the verge of tears.

After a minute or two of this a huge man (6'5", 300 lbs easy) wearing a Dale Earnhardt jacket and Bengal's baseball cap left the voting line, came up to us and introduced himself as Mike. He told us he had overheard our conversation and asked if the ladies would like to borrow his jacket to put over their t-shirts so they could go in and vote. The ladies quickly agreed. As long as I live I will never forget the image of these 80-plus-year-old Jewish ladies walking into the polling location wearing a huge Dale Earnhardt racing jacket that came over their hands and down to their knees!

Mike patiently waited for each woman to cast their vote, accepted their many thanks and then got back in line (I saved him a place while he was helping out the ladies). When Mike got back in line I asked him if he was an Obama supporter. He said that he was not, but that he couldn't stand to see those ladies so upset. I thanked him for being a gentleman in a time of bitter partisanship and wished him well.

After I voted I walked out to the street to find my mother's friends surrouding our new friend Mike — they were laughing and having a great time. I joined them and soon learned that Mike had changed his mind in the polling booth and ended up voting for Obama. When I asked him why he changed his mind at the last minute, he explained that while he was waiting for his jacket he got into a conversation with one of the ladies who had explained how the Jewish community, and she, had worked side by side with the black community during the civil rights movements of the '60s, and that this vote was the culmination of those personal and community efforts so many years ago. That this election for her was more than just a vote ... but a chance at history.

Mike looked at me and said, "Obama's going to win, and I didn't want to tell my grandchildren some day that I had an opportunity to vote for the first black president, but I missed my chance at history and voted for the other guy."

100,000 turn out for Obama in Missouri

Washington Post - "All I can say is, wow," said Obama, surveying the sea of supporters in Missouri, known as the bellwether state. His home state of Illinois was right across the muddy river.

The Fight for Florida or The Surest Way to Lose a Race

Once again, Florida is center stage in the fight for the White House. Recent articles on the battle for Florida's 27 votes include yesterday's Miami Herald, Shades of 2000, Florida Again too Close to Call and today's LATimes, Obama bets big on Florida turnout.

A Florida win would clinch the election for Obama. According to the LA Times, the Obama campaign feels that it can win Florida if enough registered Democrats actually get out and vote. On Thursday, Miami Dade County disclosed that Democrats had added 94,000 new voters since the first of the year, compared to 21,000 new Republican registrations. The key lies in getting out the vote, particularly in democrat rich South Florida.

Expect McCain and Palin to be pallin' around Florida in the next two weeks - it's make or break for them. McCain is in Miami today, wooing young voters at FIU. Melbourne is his next stop. Of note - the abundance of new democratic voter registrations could be offset by the GOP's abundant absentee ballots.

Obama’s strong showing in swing and formerly red states, gives him a decided advantage. He can reach the 270 threshold by winning Florida or by winning Colorado and Virginia, for example. But until enough of those states to break the 270 threshold are solidly Obama’s, the race remains undecided.

Florida is far from a sure thing for Obama. If the polls are accurate, Obama's lead in Florida approximates the margin of error. (Want to see how the electoral vote is shaking out, look at Real Clear Politics' interactive electoral college map.) Beyond winning the election, Obama needs a mandate to insure his ability to govern effectively and to counter what one writer called the "permanent smear campaign".

Can we relax now that we're ahead in the polls? To quote from an e-mail I just received, "The surest way to lose a race is to slow down with the finish line in sight." Lee went on to remind that Gore had a double digit lead in October 2000 and Kerry won the popular vote in 2004. Without the key states, we could lose the 2008 vote.

Joe Biden said on Thursday... "This campaign has fought for every inch, and now is not the time to take anything for granted. To get out the vote, we need to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors and make even more phone calls. This campaign has built the largest field operation in history, and we need to mobilize it in these remaining days to get every single voter to the polls on Election Day. Because that's what it comes down to -- counting every last vote."

What does this mean for Obama supporters? Florida organizers are focusing on getting out the vote. Live in another state? - the campaign makes it easy to call battleground states. Go to my.barackobama.com and volunteer to help and focus your energy on a battleground state. Barack Obama has built his campaign on grassroots support. THAT MEANS YOU.

Fired UP, Ready TO GO

19 days to go and the fight for Florida is on. Watch these for extra fuel to Make Florida Count.

Looking for a debate wrap-up? - check the debate section in the left column.

The Nana and Poppa Vote

As the Great Schlep weekend draws to a close, enjoy an inside look at family politics;

For more video on the Great Schlep, go to CNN.

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Carl Hiassen on Pit Bulls and Florida Polls

If you haven't seen Hiassen's take on the GOP troubles in Florida, it's worth a read.

Hiassen points out that Palin's "pit poodle" appearances were "staged at carefully selected stops where the crowds would be a Deep South brand of conservative Republican. McCain's strategists told reporters that Palin's mission was to rally the party base, in which case the party is in deeper trouble than at any time since Richard Nixon's ignominious exit from the White House.

"While McCain desperately needs to recapture independent and undecided voters, Palin is out preaching to the far-right aisle of the choir. Not a soul who was considering voting for Obama would have changed his or her mind after hearing Palin's low shtick."

KeatingEconomics.com - a devastating indictment

McCain - Maverick, crusader against corruption?

KeatingEconomics.com , a new site funded by the Obama campaign, exposes McCain's leading role in the 1980’s Keating 5 scandal. Testimony by a former federal bank regulator involved in the Lincoln Savings and Loan case forms the backbone of a documentary which is nothing less than a devastating indictment of the GOP presidential candidate.

“Fraud is the creation of trust and then its betrayal.” – William Black, PhD, former federal banking regulator.

In brief, John McCain was one of 5 senators (the infamous Keating 5) who took contributions from Charles Keating, head of Lincoln Savings and Loan, and then intervened on his behalf to stall regulatory investigation of what Black calls “the worst control fraud in our nation.”

Intervention by the Keating 5 caused a two year regulatory delay – two years that allowed Keating to continue to bilk elderly investors who, with Lincoln’s encouragement, invested $250 million dollars in high risk bonds. The bonds defaulted, Lincoln collapsed and more than 20,000 people lost their savings, at a cost to taxpayers of 3.4 billion dollars. The wider government bail-out of the savings and loan industry cost tax-payers 153 billion dollars by 1999, according to a FDIC report.

What did McCain know about Keating and Lincoln Savings?

“Senator McCain knew the facts because we had briefed him. He knew it was a criminal enterprise. He knew that what was being done was improper… He was uniquely in a position where he could have protested this and stopped this loss. But he did nothing.”

So testifies the regulator who was there, William Black. KeatingEconomics.com lists several background articles, but the video is the most damning document of all, in part due to Black’s intimate involvement in the case.

Gotcha! or What Tina Fey has done for her country

In anticipation of the debate tonight, here’s the latest -

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows plummeting approval ratings for Palin, who now may hurt the McCain ticket more than she helps. Loss of confidence among independent voters was particularly evident in the numbers.

The Couric interviews, widely watched by polled voters, left Palin badly bruised and fodder for what the NYTimes called the “devastating parody” on SNL.

While Tina Fey could arguably take credit for turning the course of the election around, she hasn’t completely cornered the market on Palin humor.

Though they appeared to take themselves seriously, Anderson Cooper/CNN reported Tuesday night on what could actually be seen from Little Diomede Island in Alaska. What they found – a rock in the Bering Strait with 150 inhabitants who had never seen Sarah Palin or any other governor, but who could see Russia from their doorsteps. And Slate offers a wonderful piece on Palin poetry – actually interesting, from a linguistic POV. In other news, the San Francisco Chronicle has raised a call to “Free Sarah Palin”.

Perhaps the quote of the week comes from conservative columnist Kathleen Parker who called for Palin to step down - "Cut the verbiage and there's not much content there," Parker wrote. "If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."

Even in Alaska, Palin's popularity is taking a tumble - McClatchy Newspapers

The McCain campaign desperately needs to re-burnish Palin's image in the debate. While voters paying attention to the Couric interviews have been disillusioned, the debate offers her an opportunity work her highly honed populist skills. By all accounts, she could have an edge here.

The Wall Street Journal reports that “Palin proved to be a formidable foe in Alaska debates” and a former opponent called her a master of “the fine art of the non-answer, the glittering generality.”

I don’t think we can underestimate Palin’s potential to dazzle the electorate – still I doubt it will be enough to turn things around for McCain.

Maybe Tina Fey should run for VP.

34 days - Obama surges in big 3 swing states

The results of the latest Quinnipac poll are in;

- Florida: Obama up 49 - 43 percent pre-debate and 51 - 43 percent post-debate;

- Ohio: Obama up 49 - 42 percent pre-debate and 50 - 42 percent post-debate;

- Pennsylvania: Obama ahead 49 - 43 percent pre-debate and 54 - 39 percent post.

The significance can't be overstated. According to Quinnipac, "no one has been elected President since 1960 without taking two of these largest swing states". They go on to say that "it is hard to find a modern competitive race that has swung so dramatically... this late in the game"- this based on Obama's numbers surging 15 points in just 20 days.

While heartening, another poll, still shows Obama only one point ahead in FL.

Which brings up voter registration. The Florida deadline is October 6. Here are a few figures on young people who are yet to register to vote;

MIAMI- Miami-Dade College 57,026, Florida International University 34,865, University of Miami 15,379,

DAVIE/Fort Lauderdale- Broward Community College 32,948, Nova Southeastern University 25,430,

NORTH FLORIDA Florida Community College at Jacksonville 24,769, University of North Florida 14,000