Maverick Maneuvers

So we're down to two weeks. Time is running out, and with the McCain camp letting go of Iowa and New Mexico and now Colorado, he has to (as CNN loves to say) look for a mathematical way to win those magical 270 electoral votes. So minus Colorado (9 EVS and Iowa (7 EVs) and New Mexico (5 EVs). The maverick dreams big though--he hopes to hold on to Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, and Nevada. But that won't be enough, so he's adding....wait for it... Pennsylvania. Yes, McCain is campaigning today in PENNSYLVANIA. Can I just remind his campaign that Obama has an averaged 12 point lead in this state? Jeez man, go back to Colorado, Obama's only got a 5 point lead there!

But really, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, and Nevada and Pennsylvania? That's a lot of territory to hold.

This week's polling from CBS/NYTimes show the Obama-Biden team with a bump nationally from last week's debate. They are now at 54% to McCain's 41% with the same group of people who were polled before the debate. Pre-debate it was 48%-43% Obama-McCain.

Trends show the race tightening, although Obama's lead in Gallup Daily poll expanded to 11 points from yesterday's 10. He now leads McCain 52%-41%. Still, Politico is noting that Obama's lead is expanding in two key counties-- he leads 50-40 in Nevada's Washoe County and 52-43 in North Carolina's Wake County-- which may help swing those two state to his column more solidly.

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14 days to the election! We are now only TWO WEEKS from the Election!

AVOID THE LINES (or join the lines...)! Early voting has started in 29 states across the nation. Your state may offer the option of voting early, if you're willing to go to your local Board of Elections. Reed College has compiled lists of which states offer early voting/absentee balloting options with links to official websites. Here is the shortlist of states and their early voting windows:

Alaska: Oct 20-Nov 3 Arkansas: Oct 20-Nov 3 Arizona: : Oct 2-31 California: Oct 6-Nov 3 Colorado: Oct 20-31 Georgia: Sept 22-Oct 31 Florida: Oct 20-Nov 2 Hawaii: Oct 21-Nov 1 Idaho: Oct 10-Nov 3 Illinois: Oct 13-30 Indiana: Oct 6-Nov 3 Iowa: Sept 25- Nov 3 Kansas: Oct 15-Nov 3 Louisiana: Oct 21-28 Maine: Oct 5-Nov 3 Montana: Oct 6- Nov 3

Nebraska: Sept 30- Nov 3 Nevada: Oct 18-31 New Mexico: Oct 7-Nov 1 North Carolina: Oct 16-Nov 1 North Dakota: Sept 25-Nov 3 Ohio: Sept 30-Nov 3 Oklahoma: Oct 31-Nov 3 South Dakota: now-Nov 3 Tennessee: Oct 15-30 Texas: Oct 20-31 Utah: Oct 23-Nov 2 Vermont: Oct 6-Nov 3 West Virginia: Oct 15-Nov 1 Wisconsin: now-Nov 3 Wyoming: Sept 25-Nov 3

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And if there are problems voting early with the machines (!!!)--Jeez, Florida-- what is your problem??-- please don't give up!!

Nevada, you're doing well, where the First Read blog says that: "Of the 25,000-plus who voted early, 15,644 were Democrats and 5,721 were Republicans, according to Clark County Election Department records. If that trends holds, this won't be a wave; it'll be a tsunami."