10/20 Roundup: Obama Wins the Weekend, Cindy Got Whacked, Early Voting

PowellLeader: Obama Wins the Weekend

- Barack Obama keeps swatting 'em out of the park. As previously featured on this blog, he attracted 100,000 people to a rally in Saint Louis, and another 75,000 in Kansas City. Colin Powell gave a ringing endorsement of Obama on Meet the Press-- a great tactical victory for Obama, writes Mark Halperin of Time. Perhaps mot significantly, Obama raised a whopping $150 million in the month of September- divided among 3.1 million donors, that comes out to an average of just under $50 per donation.

- Regardless, as Simon predicted, and Ezra Klein quoted, McCain has picked up a few points in the race, getting to the middle forties. This is likely exogenous to recent events-- just a natural shift of a few undecided voters into the McCain column. McCain loves being the underdog anyway, so he'd prefer to be behind right now, anyway. For his part, Joe Biden thinks the Powell endorsement should just about wrap things up.

- Obama is now in Florida with Hillary Clinton, promoting early voting. As many as one-third of voters may cast their ballots early, and most of them are going Democratic.

Economy

- As NDN has advocated, a consensus is emerging around the need for deficit spending. In that vein, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has suggested he supports the idea of a second economic stimulus, providing it is "well-targeted."

- China, meanwhile, is planning a stimulus of their own.

Election '08

- The latest argument of the McCain campaign is that, given the potential filibuster-proof majority Democrats will enjoy in the Senate, the American electorate cannot afford to elect a Democratic president, for the sake of divided government.  Weak sauce, I say, and Political Scientist Morris Fiorina, interviewed by Andrew Romano of Newsweek agrees.

- Watching the party disintegrate, John Heilemann wonders if the eggheads and the Joe Six-Packs of the Republican party can continue to get along.

- Candidates are still making a secret of their health. Joe Biden has said he will release his health records before the election.  Will John McCain do the same?

- Cindy McCain got whacked by the Grey Lady on Saturday. McCain isn't reading the Times' "gutter journalism," and is advising his wife to do the same. 

- The Chicago Tribune endorsed Obama this weekend.  That's the first time they've ever backed a Democrat.

International

- Foreign Policy has seven questions for Jeff Sachs about the prospects for the poor in the dismal economy.

- Iran is facing trouble stemming from the recent drop in oil prices.

- Presidents Bush, Sarkozy and others are planning a series of global summits to reconsider the foundation of the global economy.

One More Thing

- It's over! So says an Irish bookie, who's already making payments for bets on Obama.

- Sarah Palin favors the systematic execution of whales. Or something like that.

- Well, it happened. The Real Sarah Palin went on SNL. The show netted its best ratings in fourteen years. But it wasn't really that funny.

- Speaking of things that are real, McCain operative Nancy Pfotenhauer doesn't think Northern Virginia is real.  Marc Ambinder gives her the benefit of the doubt, and suggests that she, along with Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman, are blessed with the ability to see in ten dimensions, and have a deeper understanding of what is real than the rest of us. This breakthrough in physics should have them up for the Nobel Prize.

- Last, early voting starts today in Florida. Here's a fun new ad from Obama urging you, yes YOU, good citizen, to go out and pull that lever.

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