So why the quotes above? Did anyone actually say that?   I get the humor, and maybe you meant to use 'air quotes' (you know when people hold up the two fingers in the air).

Unless of course it results in a grand bargain to "fix" social security.

Load of crap, I totally agree, but I think if there are actually people out there who haven't decided, that has to help Obama.  

Here is guy who went after Obama at the Convention, KeyNote Speaker, with big government this and that, stand on your own blather, the full republican fantasy including this:

"We have never been victims of destiny, we have always been masters of our own."

Now that same guy realizes that forces beyond anyone's control (what he called destiny) put the people he is governing in need (what he called victims) from that same bloated government, he hated last month, now he working with to help his state.

I give him props, at least he's willing to go above his parities ridiculous mantra to help the people he governs.

But I can't think of a better political ad, panning back and forth from Christie's/Romney's/Ryan's words to pics of the government helping people and then Christie right there with Obama.

Joe thinks Mitt will win (even though the odds favor Obama)

Nate jumps on it offering the even money bet with the winnings going to the Red Cross

Joe having taken a stand looks bad if he doesn't take the bet even though Joe could get far better odds from a bookie. And doubly bad since Nate would donate the wager to charity if he wins.

Joe has to bite the bullet and make the foolish bet or wiggle a lame excuse. Either way Nate wins.

My theory, they poll just enough people to make the error rates large enough that it could be interpreted as dead even.  Larger error rates will always produce less accurate information and that constant shifting, is more likely inaccuracy, then the back and forth they keep pushing.

(Newser) - When Mitt Romney's campaign made the hasty decision to transform yesterday's planned Ohio campaign event into a Hurricane Sandy disaster relief rally, they were afraid no one would get the message in time to bring donations, hence ruining the photo-op. So campaign aides ran to Walmart the night before and bought $5,000 worth of supplies like granola bars, canned food, and diapers, sources tell Buzzfeed. To greet Romney, supporters had to hand him some donation, but if they didn't have one, they were told to "just grab something" from the pile of pre-purchased groceries.

And it also reminds me how unrepresentative our electoral college system really is; it might make it more grueling and manic to have to ask for every vote, instead of only those votes in swing states, but it's really long past time for us to have a system where every vote means something.

I think I read somewhere that this will end up being a $6 billion dollar election; aside from the nauseating enormity of that little fact, maybe a popular vote system would end up moving us closer to publicly-financed elections, which would also move us away from big-money interests having all the clout.

Really too bad there has been such a dearth of discussion about climate change in this election, but when both candidates don't ever seem to have met a fossil fuel they couldn't support - and both seem eager to frack the bejesus out of the country - I guess it's no surprise.