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So... my original plan for the day was to spend it all volunteering for Obama. But when I woke up, it occurred to me that today is the first Monday of the month, and on the first Monday of the month I have to do about 10-12 hours of data entry for my dissertation project. And its just not something I can put off. So, sadly for me, I did nothing but stare at a spreadsheet all day. Blech.

But now its after midnight, at Election Day is finally here. Can you believe it? Finally....

Get up. Get out. Vote. And then go volunteer. It's time, people. Let's make this happen.

From this AM's column:

John McCain and Barack Obama have been asked twice -- once in the Mississippi debate and again on Tuesday night -- what their priorities would be. McCain flat-out refused to choose, arguing that the United States can do it all. Obama mentioned energy, health care and education but did not acknowledge that he might have to choose among them.

From the dictionary:

priority: the right to take precedence in obtaining certain supplies, services, facilities, etc., esp. during a shortage.

Specific words have specific meanings. You would think the "Dean" of the Washington Press Corps would understand that

Worth mentioning: one of the only new policy proposals in McCain's speech last night was wage insurance. For those who don't know, wage insurance provides workers with compensation from the government when they lose their job and are forced to replace it with one that pays a lower wage. Wage insurance, it is worth noting, is very popular in European socialist system.

Let me repeat that: conservatives last night cheered a policy proposal that is very, very popular with European socialists.

Go read Ezra.

I have no doubt that the coverage of tonight's speech by Gov. Palin will be almost entirely positive. And that as a result, over the next 24-48 hours we'll be treated to tons of stories about how she has "turned the corner."

Don't be fooled. Speeches are easy compared to sit down interviews, press conferences, and deabtes. She's a new governor of a petrostate, so her areas of policy and political expertise are extremely limited. Once she can't control the subject matter, she's done for.

And no, I don't care how hard she studies. You can't learn that much in that short a time period. It's just not possible.

I'm off to Tufts to teach my class. Blame BU, not me.

Palin loved earmarks (via Atrios):

John McCain touts his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as a force in his battle against earmarks and entrenched power brokers.

But under her leadership, Alaska has asked the federal government for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects this year. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress and runs counter to the image the GOP ticket is pushing.

And that Bridge to Nowhere she opposed? Not so much. She actually used it as a campaign prop. Go check out the pictures, and then read this:

"Palin said Alaska's congressional delegation worked hard to obtain funding for the bridge as part of a package deal and that she 'would not stand in the way of the progress toward that bridge." Ketchikan Daily News 9/2006

To repeat: They do not understand how Google and social networking technologies work. They do not understand how they have changed politics forever.

But I've saved the best for last:

Three times in recent years, [McCain's] lists of 'objectionable' pork spending have included earmarks requested by his new running mate.

They are literally on opposite sides of the issue that they made central to their campaign. Oops.

Big story from the Politico. Two weeks ago, Palin sat in church and heard the following:

An illustration of that gap came just two weeks ago, when Palin's church, the Wasilla Bible Church, gave its pulpit over to a figure viewed with deep hostility by many Jewish organizations: David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus.

Palin's pastor, Larry Kroon, introduced Brickner on Aug. 17, according to a transcript of the sermon on the church's website.

"He's a leader of Jews for Jesus, a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing, demanding area of witnessing and evangelism," Kroon said.

Brickner then explained that Jesus and his disciples were themselves Jewish.

"The Jewish community, in particular, has a difficult time understanding this reality," he said.

Brickner's mission has drawn wide criticism from the organized Jewish community, and the Anti-Defamation League accused them in a report of "targeting Jews for conversion with subterfuge and deception."

Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.

"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

Palin was in church that day, Kroon said, though he cautioned against attributing Brickner's views to her.

This was two weeks ago.

They made these rules. We never asked for religion to be brought into politics. These are their rules, and they are going to have to live by them.

I can't help but wonder after reading this: what will Joe Lieberman think when he reads this?