Troopergate Alive and Kicking

So, it turns out that Palin's attempts at setting up a sham investigation to clear her and the First Dude might have backfired. It turns out, the State Personnel Board hired an "aggressive," Democratic Anchorage trial lawyer to serve as independent counsel. And, according to the Anchorage Daily News, the investigation has expanded "to include other ethics complaints against the governor and examination of actions by other state employees." There is no guarantee that the results of this investigation will come out by the election (or at all), but the board has two upcoming meetings scheduled: October 20 and November 3.

Weekend Update

Palin abused her power (sooprize, sooprize) in trooper-gate, but consequences are unclear.

McCain is trying to control his unruly crowds (or is he?), but then a surrogate goes after Michelle for a very tenuous connection to Bill Ayers wife. The former is the best article I've seen today on McCain's attempts to deal with the angry crowds he and Palin have been inciting.

Republicans need a new tactic cuz insulting the people you want to vote for you ain't working.

More good news for Obama:

From Newsweek:

Obama appears to have broadened his coalition of support and made inroads with groups that have not reliably embraced him over the course of the long presidential campaign. He now leads McCain among both men (54 percent to 40 percent) and women (50 percent to 41 percent). He now wins every age group of voters—including those over 65 years of age, who back him over McCain 49 to 43 percent. Supporters of Hillary Clinton, as many as a fifth of whom had at one point told pollsters they'd support McCain over Obama, now back the Democratic nominee 88 percent to 7 percent.

From Fox:

"Obama has also improved his standing with his party faithful. A month ago, 79 percent of Democrats were backing Obama. Today it is 86 percent. McCain has consistently received the backing of over 80 percent of Republicans and is backed by 83 percent today.

Independents split their vote 34 percent Obama and 32 percent McCain, with 24 percent unsure. That's little changed from two weeks ago when Obama was up by 36 percent to 31 percent and 29 percent undecided.

A 61 percent majority of voters believes Obama is going to win the election - more than three times as many as believe McCain will (18 percent). A month ago it was evenly divided: 41 percent Obama and 40 percent McCain (Sept. 8-9). This summer, voters were more likely to say Obama would win: 51 percent Obama and 27 percent McCain (July 22-23). "

And from loverboy Nate:

"With 25 days to go until the election, Barack Obama is presently at his all-time highs in four of the six national tracking polls (Research 2000, Battleground, Hotline and Zogby) and is just one point off his high in Gallup. He has emerged with clear leads in both Florida and Ohio, where there are several polls out today. He is blowing McCain out in most polls of Pennsylvania and Michigan, and is making states like West Virgina and Georgia competitive."

Are things so bad that the GOP is going to completely bail on McCain? That's what Andrew Sullivan is hearing:

"So I hear (via a prominent member of the sane Republican faction) that the word on the right side of the street is that the Republican National Committee is about to pull the plug on its joint ads with the McCain campaign, and devote its resources instead to trying to save a couple of the senators who are at serious risk of losing their seats. Now this is gossip, albeit of the high class variety; take it with the requisite pinch of salt."

Finally, if you live in Chicago, Sassy recommends a very cool play we saw last night at the Cultural Center (thanks to Bridget!): Produced by The Incurable Theater and written by one of our favorite local authors, Jill Summers, "In the Curious Hold of the Demeter: Count Orlock at Sea" is only around for two more weekends. It's creepy, funny, weird, and dark. Just what Sassy likes.

Surprise Headliner at VA GOP Diversity Rally

TPM reports that in an effort to win over minority voters in Virginia, the GOP is holding a rally featuring former senator, George "Macaca" Allen. Brilliant!

I'm also pretty amped about the polls today. And, if you haven't seen the NY Times tracking poll internals, I recommend checking them out. In a nutshell, Barack's leading and most of the respondents side with him on the issue questions.

In other cool news, Charles Gibson has become my favorite anchor.

Finally, I have a legal question for Ilsa. If I'm ever investigated for breaking the law, can I just "decline to participate"?

More Fun Reading

Here's Talking Points Memo's summary of the Trooper-Gate scandal.