This election season has been an intense one for us Democrats without question.  We've gone through a historic primary - of 7 legitimate challengers (sorry Libertarian Mike Gravel no longer counts), only four were white men, and by February, our two candidates still in the race were a white woman and a black man, both of whom looked to be astounding candidates and presidents.

Then the race rapidly turned ugly - there had been bad points before, but after Wisconsin, things got vicious. NAFTA, mailers, Wright, veracity, scandals, the campaign seemed to be spiraling downwards in some senses. Polling begun to make the rounds that suggested that no one would really "win" the primary fight, that the nominee would lose a critical amount of Democratic voters to McCain, making the nomination worthless.

Hey all:
 I'm not going to lie, I've seen a lot on DKos and been a part of a lot of discussions of bad news (what can I say, it's the Bush years).  Over the last day, this place has been a zoo, and it's been driving me up the wall.  To put the cards on the table, I favor Obama, but that's not why.  I'm frustrated because this place is becoming nasty, on both sides.  And as I read every new diary, it was getting to me, I was getting antsy and angry and frustrated.

As a result, I took a break.

Like many people here at DKos, I'm a poll junkie.  The first thing I do each morning when I wake up is grab my laptop from under my bed to see what's was released while I slept, I check Pollster, RCP, and DKos incessantly throughout the day to see what's going on, and it's the last thing I check do before I go to bed (ask my girlfriend).

That said, we're reaching utter chaos here.  People engage in bipolar mood swings depending on whether they see a poll that helps their candidate or hurts their candidate. Two things must thus be noted:

Hey all.  Like most people at this site, I live for election night -- sitting in front of a tv and computer, frantically trying to find the most up-to-date information. This year, however, I'm volunteering until very late (9 PM EST), by which point many of the critical races of the night will have significant returns.  For those working in the mountain states or the West Coast the situation is even worse, with polls open until 11 in the east, long after many races may have been decided (a list of when polls close in different states is in the Extended Body).

My question for my fellow Kossacks is this -- how do you plan to stay abreast of info if you're out volunteering?  Are there any websites, tv networks, or newspapers which offer to sent text messages to your phone of election return updates?  Does the DCCC, DNC, or DSCC have such a program?  Or will you just call friends and family every so often as the night progresses asking for race updates?

Given that it's Halloween and just a week before the election, part of me expected to see crazy stuff today, but this was a shocker.  While I was leaving the undergrad library at Yale, I saw this truck driving through the campus.

For those who can't see it, the truck says "Joseph Mengele and Joe Lieberman say Tortures Ok," with a swastiki below and to the left of Lieberman's name.

While the news of today's Q-Pac poll was mixed news (pro: positive trendlines continue; con: Lieberman still leads), it did shed light on what I think is one of the most critical, yet overlooked numbers in the poll: Lieberman's favorable/unfavorables.  Currently at 46-30, this number underlines why Joe continues to receive more than 30% of Dems and 58% of Independents.

All of this got me thinking: what is the best way to cut into this number such that the remaining die-hard Dems, and then it hit me -- principle.  Almost all of Joe's Connecticut for Lieberman (CTfL) campaign has focused on the need for a principled man to stay in the Senate and make compromises.  In the grand tradition of Karl Rove, then, that is the place that  people must attack.

Yesterday, Bill Keller, Executive Editor of the New York Times spoke at a function for Columbia University's college paper, The Spectator.   He came with a chip on his shoulder.

According to the AP, Pres. Bush will announce that the US is going to send men to the Red Planet.  While this enterprise will be extremely costly, I must admit that it is alluring -- it's brave, bold, and fresh, cast in the spirit of American expansion. Next big Q: how will the Democratic candidates respond?