Did you catch John McCain dropping his "g" at 9:20 ET -- "Americans are hurtin'"?  That, his repeated use of the word "angry," and his "Joe the Plumber" (aka Joe Six-Pack?) reference, signal to me that he is channeling Palin's fake populism.

I am no fan of the MSM, but I was genuinely astonished when I logged into CNN a few minutes ago and read this headline:

"Obama in position to steal Virginia from GOP"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/09/v irginia.battleground/index.html

The story itself is not a bad one, relating the changing demographics and economic realities that make it  possible that Obama will be the first democrat in nearly 1/2 a century to take VA's electoral votes.  But the headline is insidious.

Republicans consistently use the myth of pervasive voter fraud as an excuse for rules and laws designed to suppress the franchise.  

Lori Minnite, a professor of Political Science at Barnard College and a senior fellow at Demos, outlined the suppressive effects of a DOJ initiative to prosecute fraud, in light of her extensive research which shows that in reality there is little evidence of voter fraud in US elections.  Typically, what is prosecuted as voter fraud is the result of individual voter misunderstanding. (you can read this testimony at http://www.demos-usa.org/pub1537.cfm)

Using this headline plays into the worst Republican stereotypes of Obama as the corrupt Chicago politician.  I encourage everyone to spread the word and contact CNN and encourage them to change the headline to one that more accurately reflects the story's contact ("Obama in a position to capture VA"?).

OK, I didn't say it--former NYC Mayor Ed Koch did.  Koch, who endorsed G.W. Bush over Kerry in 2004 has finally come out and endorsed Obama, mainly because of Palin.  

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h0ESm J6UwN2fpOggNfhH1ecbt6wwD933AQ5O0

He makes the very valuable point that protecting our country is about more than defending us from foreign attacks, it is also about protecting our civil liberties, abortion rights, gay rights and access to health care.

Koch can be bit of a crank (to put it mildly), and he is far from progressive; but this is one of the clearest statements yet of the stakes of this elections.  And the headline quote should ensure that it gets quite a bit of play.

So according to the AP, Edwards (and you know they don't mean John) is still on the VP short list.

So, any Texans out there who can give us their take on Waco Rep Chet Edwards?

I see from "breaking blue," MSNBC and other sources that Webb has definitively and unambiguously declared that he is not interested in the number 2 spot.  I personally feel that his past baggage would have proved too distracting to the contest to outweigh the obvious strengths he would have brought to the ticket (and I suspect that this declaration may be a mutually face-saving way of removing his name without the embarrassment of declaring that he could not pass the vetting process).  

So, who do people feel is rising to the top at this point?

Very, very funny--share it around...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiQJ9Xp0x xU

Just heard this on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show:

Hillary addressing AIPAC, "I know Senator Obama understands what is at stake here. It has been an honor to contest primaries with him. It is an honor to call him my friend. And let me be very clear: I know that Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel."