Those are the folks, I think, that the mcShame ads and rallies are manipulating.

Yes, that is who they are aiming at and that's what Palin does do for them - she brings out that base that may have stayed home otherwise. But I still can't understand what McLame was thinking cause that base is not big enough to elect anyone. His only hope was to hang on to the independents and Democrats who voted for Bush but that ain't happening cause Commander CooCoo already scorched that earth and sowed it with salt.

Weirdest campaign evah!

While much has been made of the unknown number of white voters who would likely not vote for an African American, not enough has been made of the disaffected, educated Republicans, some of whom like Powell have been vocal in their support and others like George Will, Peggy Noonan, etc. who may well vote for Obama. These are only the public figures; there must be people who think like them.

As tempting as it may be to say that there aren't that many educated republicans, I've run into a fair number who like Obama much more than McCain, especially after the Palin pick. Whether the number is significant, I have no clue, but quiet support from that segment of the republican party certainly wouldn't hurt the Obama vote count.

"Twenty seven percent of conservatives said their opinion of Obama had gotten better, while 28% said the same of McCain." This is telling!

In short this is 1/4 of conservatives with a more favorable opinion of Obama. Kinda fit with a theory that about 5% of conservatives (1/4 of 1/4) do have measurable amounts of sanity(Bill Buckeley's son)and would be prone to vote for Obama, Palin was the tipping point. This 1/4 of 1/4 is between 3% & 5% of the total pool of voters, and likely higher in battleground states. So a 3% to 5% switch in battleground states means McCain is into toast time! The independents provide an extra margin. Obama's $150M haul and Powell's endorsement lend weight to this view as these type of folks need more than their gut feelings to follow and many are not tied the the political purse or ideological swamps in any way. On the 1/4 of 1/4 it is something like Obama's $150M haul, it was made of the average contributions of I believe $86; at this level numbers do matter and strongly indicates the likely outcome.

Palin sexy? Not after hearing her speak the first time. Hard to get my groove on while listening to Palin's fingernails-on-blackboard sweet nothings.

Now, the tippy-tippy-tap of TenaX's fingertips on the keyboard? Bwang, chicka chicka! That's sexy!

I'm not surprised that the polls are tightening, but I do note that it's McCain's numbers rising a couple of points and not Obama's dropping. He's holding at that 50 percent level. I was encouraged this past week when a former co-worker, a blue collar high school grad in Iowa who voted for Bush, called me to ask a work-related question. After I answered, he asked if I'd seen the last debate, after which he enthused about Obama and mentioned that he and his friends would be voting for Obama.

Keep in mind that the national poll is ultimately meaningless. Electoral votes are the key and even the MSM are showing that Obama is over the 270 mark.