...is interesting, and certainly welcome. But I, for one, am waiting for perhaps THE MOST anticipated endorsement of this entire election cycle.

Whose, you ask?

Why, Colin Powell, of course! No matter what you think of him, or his behavior and culpability in the whole Iraq mess, HIS endorsement will be truly newsworthy. Anybody want to bet against Powell also "coming out of the closet" for Obama?

You know, it might be a part of that upcoming half hour of national TV time being purchased on Oct. 29 -- what bigger "splash" could we ask for? If the Obama campaign issues alerts about a real game-changer to come during the broadcast, don't dismiss a Powell endorsement as a huge possibility!

You know the only lasting damage likely to come from these revolting attacks on Obama by McCain and his surrogates? It will be the loss of ANY trust or good will in Pres. Obama among those who've been whipped into an irrational, animal-like hatred of him.

While all this hand-wringing over how McCain is demolishing his own legacy may be real, we're just talking about one old man who'll live out his days as a minority party Senator from a western state. He'll be fine, and his effectiveness as a Senator doesn't really matter too much. He and Cindy will be able to retire in splendor whenever they wish.

But this COUNTRY will carry on, with Pres. Obama in office for one, possibly two terms. The huge challenges before this country -- which Obama and his administration must face -- will be all that much harder to deal with as a result of McCain's disgusting campaign.

The only appropriate phrase, then, is "scorched earth policy" -- McCain and his people don't care about the real consequences of their losing campaign. McCain has sold his soul to the devil -- the same devil that ruined his chances in 2000. This might be considered poetic justice to some, but I maintain that this "justice" will cut both ways, harming not only McCain's reputation and legacy, but also Obama's effectiveness as President.

How THAT can be considered "Country First", Sen. McCain, completely escapes me.

...but I'd posted information here in the War Room two days ago in response to our former Ohio Attorney Gen. Ken Blackwell's frantic bleating about "possible voter fraud" in this state. It's *well* worth repeating.

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Check out this in-depth AP article: http://www.ohio.com/news/ap?articleID=884314&c=y

A few choice extracts are copied below.

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"Nobody ever worried about it [same day registration & voting]. It was just there," said Peg Rosenfield, an election expert with the Ohio League of Women Voters. "I knew it was in the law. You've been able to register and cast an absentee vote in this state on the same day since at least 1981."

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"Brian Rothenberg, executive director of the liberal ProgressOhio.org, is skeptical that the GOP knew nothing of the window before the Obama campaign caught onto it.

'Obviously, the Secretary of State at the time (Blackwell) knew about this. He was running for governor and his big base of support at the time was coming from the evangelical churches that are very organized at mobilization,' said Rothenberg, who worked for the Ohio Democratic Party in 2006.

He asserts that Republicans wrote the provision to benefit their own party's candidate, and are only concerned now because it is working to Democrats' benefit.

'I think Ken Blackwell not only discovered it, I think he used it,' Rothenberg said."

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"He [Carlo LoParo, a Republican public relations consultant who worked for Blackwell] acknowledged that the Ohio Republican Party reached out to voters on behalf of Blackwell and other GOP candidates in 2006, asking them to register and take advantage of the new no-fault absentee voting law."

Here's the problem with all of us who don't profess mindless love for McCain/Palin: We're convinced that logic, fairness and consistency have a place in our country!

Never mind that you're exactly right in suggesting equal treatment for ALL candidates, checkin' out EVERYONE'S history since their parents conceived them. You're just sufferin' from Palin Derangement Syndrome if you don't accept her immaculate life as presented by the McCain/Palin campaign!

Obama should channel Joseph Welch, who'd finally had enough of Sen. Joe McCarthy during the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, uttering these immortal words:

"Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

With a few obvious tweaks, a response something like this during an upcoming debate is probably all Obama would need to put McCain away, finally and completely.