Live Coverage of Presidential Campaign: Thursday October 16th

5:00PM, Central Standard Time

Sarah Palin just can't keep from being easy fodder for Tina Fey. Today, according to the New York Times political blog, at a rally in New Hampshire, she told the crowd "Red Sox fans know how to turn an underdog into a victor". It's an innocent bit of pandering to the hometown audience. The only problem is that she said this last week to a group in Florida after the Rays defeat of the Chicago White Sox: ""How about those Tampa Bay Rays?"

"You know what that tells me? It tells me that the people in this area know a little something about turning an underdog into a victor."

Oops. I guess the Red Sox and and Rays will be battling it out tonight to see which team can be the underdoggiest. Of course, the winner of the series will meet the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, and I've got a sneaking suspicion that their fans know a little something about turning an underdog into a victor too.

This isn't the first time Palin got into trouble by stepping into the sports world. Two weeks ago, Palin proudly accepted a hockey jersey from the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks, saying she loved their "Go Mavericks" cheer. Of course Palin forgot that Nebraska-Omaha is the rival of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and her support of the Mavericks left some in Fairbanks miffed.

Obama Holding Strong in Battleground States

3:30PM, Central Standard Time

The helpful election website FiveThirtyEight.com came out with their monthly report on battleground states in the presidential election, and the news looks good for Barack Obama. Based on polling numbers, they have Barack Obama holding 286 electoral votes--he only needs 271 to win the presidency--before looking at any states close enough to be a "battleground state". They project Obama to win 364 electoral votes on election day.

To get back in the mix, McCain is pinning his hopes on a plumber from Toledo. The McCain campaign released a Web Ad today featuring Joe the Plumber. Earlier today, I joked that Joe the Plumber might replace Sarah Palin as McCain's second-in-command. Liberal blogger Andrew Sullivan pointed out today that Joe the Plumber has held more press conferences than Sarah Palin.

McCain isn't the only taking candidate taking his beefs to YouTube. Barack Obama also released a new ad today trying to tie John McCain to President Bush.

Life After the Debates

11:30AM, Central Standard Time

The candidates are done addressing each other face-to-face, meaning they'll have almost total control over the direction of their campaign in these final 20 days. For Barack Obama, one of his final gestures to the American public before the election will be some highly-publicized half hour TV segments that will air on national television stations. It was announced today that a potential Game 6 of the World Series will be delayed so that Obama can address the nation on Fox. Obama does have a lead in the polls, but polls can be fickle and Obama isn't taking anything for granted. He's known as an exceptional speaker and should shine in these 30-minutes addresses to the nation. While his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was more pragmatic in nature, this may be the opportunity for Obama to break out a monumental speech that energizes the masses to get out and vote in November.

McCain, meanwhile, looks like he will keep on trucking with his new running mate, Joe the Plumber. The criticisms of Obama's assocation with Bill Ayers seem to have missed the mark with voters, possibily because McCain chose to take the high road and not hammer Obama about it in the way others in his campaign have. McCain released a new advertisement today, that goes after Obama for using the phrase "spread the wealth around". Will it land? It may with some voters, but this will be the first election in which citizens born after the fall of the Berlin Wall will be able to vote and the word 'socialism' just doesn't scare people like it used to.

More accurate poll numbers following the debate will start coming out later in the day, but it's unlikely to be good news for the McCain campaign.

Wrapping Up the Debates

9:00AM, Central Standard Time

The third and final presidential debate is now over, meaning our long national nightmare of constant campaigning is almost over and we'll soon be saved from the dreadful phrase of "....and I approve this message" for another three years or so. Joe the Plumber has been annointed from annoying guy in a campaign line to cult hero--or anti-hero, if you lean the other way--and John McCain still looks like an angry old man.

Both parties obviously will try to claim their candidate won the debate. Not surprisingly, in the immediate aftermath of the debate, McCain had a commanding lead in the FoxNews television poll, while Obama was favored by CNN viewers. But the non-partisan reactionto the debates seems to be calling it another draw. McCain did what he had to do by going after Obama and putting him on the defensive, while Obama showed his presence under pressure by coolly explaining every accusation lobbed against him. You can argue about who scored an extra point here or there, but with Obama entering the debate with a significant and expanding lead, there was no "game-changer" that will swing a considerable amount of votes in McCain's direction.