Florida's "no match" law does NOT, repeat, NOT require the address on a voter's ID to match his or her address on the voter rolls. Rather, it requires voters to be identified by their driver's license number or, if they have no driver's license, by the last four digits of their Social Security number. If those numbers do not match — say, due to copying or typographical errors — the voter will be asked to resolve the issue by visiting the Supervisor of Elections office and having the record corrected. How many voters will be able to take the time to do that, particularly with less than two weeks remaining before Election Day? I'm not saying that the "no match" law isn't a serious impediment to citizens' right to vote. It is — although our Republican governor would argue otherwise. What I AM saying is that you need to get your facts straight.

...It's important to have that last conversation, if indeed that's what the situation requires. I know that from experience. Second, as other readers have pointed out, it's not a "suspension." Seems to me we have a very capable running mate, his spouse, two Clintons, and numerous other surrogates making nonstop appearances all across the country. Finally, early voting has begun, which means the Obama Machine is already in full gear. We will continue to get out the vote even if our candidate takes 48 hours to visit his gammy. It's called "No Drama." Find something else to talk about.

...Senator Biden's son also has deployed — to Iraq. Excuse me, Salon, but why do I, a mere reader, have to point this out?

If Governor Palin sent a taped message to these nut cases, I'm dying to see/hear it. As well as some footage from their convention. I don't just want to rely on the Ted Stevens phone tapes for my entertainment this week. Let's have it!

...That 70 million people got to see Joe Biden do so well. Thank you, John McCain, for nominating an idiot as your running mate. It made people watch the Veep debate in record numbers, and get to know someone many of them probably never heard of before. No doubt, they now realize what a great guy Senator Biden is — and what a wonderful Vice President he will be.

At 10:20 PM, I e-mailed my husband, who's traveling in California, to say I thought Palin had won the debate... even though Biden had been substantive and respectful (more than Palin desreved). At 10:30 I e-mailed him again, to say, never mind. Biden slaughtered her in the last 10 minutes of the debate. No contest. Cleaned her clock. Way to go, Joe.

I just watched Nancy Pelosi's allegedly rabidly partisan speech in its entirety. C-SPAN did us all the courtesy of rerunning it a few minutes ago. Mr. Schaller, I strongly suggest you watch it as well. If you do, you'll see that she didn't "scold" her Republican colleagues — she faulted the Bush Administration's "anything goes on Wall Street" mindset and even acknowledged that NOT ALL Republicans subscribed to it.

However, I think it was something she said at the END of the speech that freaked Boehner and Blunt out. She said, "The Democrats will more than live up to their part in supoprting this legislation; I hope the Republicans will, too."

That's it. They knew that they didn't have the votes, and once it failed, she had them by the balls. So they came up with this lame excuse that she was, in essence, a mean girl.

The only thing worse than this perfidy is the sorry-ass performance of John McCain, who inexplicably gave a speech this morning claiming credit for the passage of the bailout package before it failed.

Incredible. Believe me, if I try to use my credit card tomorrow and can't, I'll know whom to blame, and it won't be Nancy Pelosi.

A great, small-but-satisfying hockey movie beloved by legions of guys for 30 years, but written by a woman. Only Paul Newman could have pulled off the scene in which he realizes that the woman unloading groceries from her car is the owner of his team. Classic, and one of my best memories of this wonderful actor and philanthopist.

And I sure wish you had pointed that out.

I definitely know the difference between icing and off-sides. And I'm definitely voting for Obama-Biden. Because all right-thinking hockey fans know it's Time for a Change.

And the Republicans can try to make it about personalites and bullcrap — but the bottom line is, it's about what's happening in people's lives.

That's what matters.

Plus. nobody can stand two months of exposure in today's 24/7 news cycle. Nobody.

When will the Florida and Georgia delegations have to leave, so they can batten down their homes for Hurricane Hanna?

Somehow we think that God may at long last be punishing the Republicans for cravenly scheduling their conventions to coincide with the Sept. 11 anniversary.

The official height of the hurricane season is Sept. 10.

Just sayin'.

It's a question of sheer panic. Rove and Schmidt obviously looked at their polling last night and freaked out. Why else would they have called Tim Pawlenty as late as yesterday, told him he was under serious consideration, and advised him to get back to Minneapolis so he could get to Dayton more easily? That's the only explanation I can come up with for this completely mystifying selection.

Unless the McCain campaign already knows it's going to lose, and the Bushies want him saddled with a vice presidential candidate too weak to inherit the leadership of the party — ensuring that nothing will stand between the 2012 nomination and (pick one) Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, George Allen, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum or Charlie Crist.