the home stretch

Chuck Todd's state-by-state election guide

Josh Marshall on McCain's ugly tactics

Roger Simon on the respective ground games (vid)

The NYT on new black voters:

For some black men and women, the sense of pride is overwhelming, as is the feeling that they are participating in what could become a touchstone moment, something that children and grandchildren will want to hear about.

"I'd feel bad forever if I didn't get out this time," said Ms. Wilcox of Jacksonville, a cafeteria worker. "I'd feel like I didn't do my part to put him in the office. How would I explain that to my little girl? 'Oh, I had something better to do?' And sure, it's partially because he's African-American. But he also says there will be change, and I believe him."

Timothy Hairston, 47, a bartender in Brooklyn who has never voted before, shared that point of view. "I wanted to be a part of a historical moment," Mr. Hairston said, "to say that I was involved in history in the making, that I was an active participant as opposed to someone on the sidelines rooting for change but not involved in the process of making change."

He added of Mr. Obama: "I think it's a testament to his campaign that he can inspire. At the end of the day, no matter what party you vote for, I think every once in a while there are inspirational moments that call for people to wake up from their deep sleep and become alive and get involved. And I think Barack at the very least is an inspirational figure."

Obama on McCain and Cheney (vid)

Maddow interviews Obama (vid)

Meanwhile Bush is still President


not to get ahead of ourselves, but:

The Financial Times on Obama's transition team

The Dems make plans


I'm so nervous about Tuesday I don't want to even write about it. Phonebanking helps ease the mind (even if it kind of sucks).

I'll let others do the pep-talk:

One of my favorite cyclists likes to say, "Leave everything on the road", meaning that when he crosses the finish line, he will have burned every last ounce of energy in his body. If he falls short? No regrets because he gave it his all, every last bit of it.

We can't have regrets on Election Night, thinking that some Democrats came up short because we failed to leave everything on the road. We can't have a Jim Martin or a Bob Lord or a Darcy Burner or whoever come inches from victory, knowing that maybe we could've done just a little bit more to help them cross the finish line victorious. Even if all you can give is $5 to one candidate, or one afternoon phone banking, it still matters. There's a lot of us, and a lot of little gestures adds up to a whole lot of action.

and:

Now, leaving everything on the road will mean different things to different people. No one should compare themselves to the greatest canvasser on earth, unless they're the second-greatest canvasser on earth. We should all compare ourselves to...ourselves. The question is not "am I doing more than that guy over there?" It's "am I doing more than I thought I could?" Have you dug a little deeper, pushed yourself to one more door or one more day than you ever have before?

"The future belongs to those who are passionate and who work hard!"
-Paul Wellstone