When I'm bored or anxious, I like to play with the interactive electoral college map over at RealClearPolitics.com. They set it up for you based on the latest aggregate polling data, but you can change the configuration at will. Obama has been ahead all along, but you had to turn several gray "toss-up" states to light blue "leaning Obama" in order to give him the win.

In these dark days of negative politics and collapsing markets, I just want to call out a feel-good art project to warm our chilly hearts. A few of us associated with DagBlog organized a nationwide Obama fundraiser over the summer with fundraising parties in multiple cities across the country and around the world. I worked on the NYC event which took place at a loft in Brooklyn.

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been commenting or posting anything on TalkingPointsMemo for a while now. The reason is that I've decided to spend the last month of the election in Missouri volunteering full-time for the Obama campaign. It's a sacrifice I'm willing and happy to make. Missouri is on the point of tipping blue, and I want to see that it actually DOES go blue for Obama on election day. There's no reason that it can't.

6:15 PDT: Late start.  I'm not sure what Brokaw's question about who would be Treasury Secretary was in aid of.  On the "How is the bailout supposed to work?" question, Obama seems to be giving a competent explanation of the potential danger of the credit crisis.

6:18 PDT: Did John McCain just say that he's going to fix the economy by ending the culture of lobbying and cronyism in Washington?  Why should anyone believe that when he can't do it within his own campaign?  Also, earmarks!