Barack Obama may have just forever changed a sincerely ugly dynamic in American politics that has existed since before I was born -- the old Republican refrain which questions the patriotism of Democrats. They've been beating this drum for a long time, which is why it would truly be stunning if Obama manages to put it to rest once and for all. From McCarthyism to post-Vietnam "Democrats hate our troops" nonsense to silly games about flag-worship to a few days ago, this has been a favorite weapon to use against Democrats: They're not patriotic. They're not real Americans. They don't love their country. They blame America first. In fact, they hate America. Unlike all us America-loving Republicans.

I have always bitterly resented this caricature, I should add. I even write about it (or different aspects of it) every Fourth of July. I fly an American flag on the Fourth, and I make no apologies for doing so. That flag doesn't mean I support the wars George Bush started, that flag doesn't mean I'm more patriotic than anyone else, and it certainly doesn't mean I'm a Republican. What that flag means is that I believe in the ideals of America, while at the same time being patriotic enough to point out flaws in those ideals' execution.

Am I a patriot? I would not use that word, myself. Much like the word "hero," most anyone who uses it to describe himself probably doesn't qualify. Unless you are referring to yourself as a Patriot, and you are indeed a professional football player on New England's team (ahem). Seriously, though, patriot is a word best used about other people, in my humble opinion, and not about yourself. In other words, you don't get to judge for yourself whether you're a hero or a patriot, others do. That may be unfair, but that's how I feel.

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It's quiet out there... too quiet.

Well, not really, but I always wanted to start a column with that line. The news this week is that there's not much news. The state-by-state polls have been remarkably stable for how close we are to Election Day. Some fringe states have shifted slightly for both candidates, but most states appear to be more and more "locked in" at this point.

Which reminds me, what the heck is John McCain doing in Pennsylvania? He must be counting on one whopping big Bradley Effect there, because almost every poll I've seen says he doesn't stand a chance in the Keystone State.

What it may be is that McCain could be pinning his hopes for the entire race on Pennsylvania. It has an impressive 21 electoral votes, and it is looking more and more unlikely that McCain has any way of putting together a 270-vote win. So maybe their electoral math has come down to: if we lose Pennsylvania, we lose the race.

That would be great news for Obama, if it were true. The list of states McCain is rumored to be pulling out of continues to grow (Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado), meaning McCain's got fewer and fewer chances remaining, and possibly no chance at all without Pennsylvania.

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Americablog has an interesting item up today. The photo (reproduced below) is pretty much the entire story. This photo was taken after a McCain rally:

The local Missouri television station that broke the story actually has video, if you're interested.

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While 2008 is guaranteed to be an election "like no other" in American politics for many other reasons, it will also be the first election where the voters themselves may wind up doing the best job of policing the election process itself. The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and YouTube have teamed up to offer a powerful tool to aid this effort: "Video Your Vote."

In a way, this was almost inevitable. The prevalence of cell phones capable of recording video has grown so fast in the past few years that this will be the first election where if anything hinkey does happen at the polls, there is an extremely good chance that someone watching will pull out a phone and record the video for the world to see. That's a powerful tool, indeed, and may combat fears from both Republicans and Democrats over voting irregularities on Election Day. At least somewhat.

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I started blogging over two years ago. That is to say, right about the time the 2008 presidential campaign began.

OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I actually started writing in order to have some tiny influence on the 2006 election, after I wrote the book "How Democrats Can Take Back Congress." But soon after the 2006 Democratic sweep of both houses of Congress, the presidential race began in earnest. Almost two years ago.

And now we find ourselves a few weeks out from Election Day, and things are looking pretty good for Democrats everywhere. It's been an exhausting campaign, and I don't think anyone can argue that the Grateful Dead lyric I used as this week's title is inaccurate. It has been a long and strange journey indeed.

Which brings up a point of sadness for left-leaning pundits everywhere to acknowledge. Since George W. Bush's approval rating is now lower than Nixon's, I feel it is appropriate to misquote Tricky Dick himself. Because, soon, we won't have George Bush to kick around any more.

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Was it just me, or did last night's presidential debate sound like some sort of surreal game of Clue? "It was Joe The Plumber... in the auditorium... with a lead pipe."

Ahem. Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

As usual, I don't really have much of an opinion about who "won" the debate last night, because I think such designations are inherently subjective. I can see both sides thinking their candidate "won" the night last night, in other words.

If you were a McCain supporter before the debate, you will likely still be supporting McCain and you will likely think your guy did a good job -- took the fight to Obama, strongly and forcefully made your points, and appeared more upbeat and emotional than during the first two debates. Your thoughts on Obama were likely to be that you felt he did a bad job -- long-winded, couldn't explain things McCain kept hitting him on, and grinning in a disrespectful way throughout the debate.

Likewise, if you were an Obama supporter before the debate, you will likely think your guy did a good job -- appearing calm and rational, answering the questions, refusing to point out what a ridiculous choice Sarah Palin was for a running mate, and addressing issues that average Americans care deeply about while rising above the nastiness of the campaign. Your thoughts on McCain were likely to be that you felt he did a bad job -- jerky, enraged, vicious little soundbites with no substance, demeaning to Obama with his grimaces and raised eyebrows and rolling eyeballs, and obviously clueless about what average Americans are going through.

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This week's word is going to be "insurmountable." Look for it coming from the lips and pens of pundits everywhere in the next week. Because while mainstream media journalists are obviously trying to portray this race as a lot closer than it really is (better ratings that way), if Obama can just hold on to the leads he has right now -- not improve them in any way, just hold them -- then Election Day viewing parties nationwide may be over before anyone's even finished their first beer.

Remember, the East Coast returns come in first. And it's going to be all but impossible to continue the "we're in a dead heat" nonsense if Barack Obama decisively wins Florida and Virginia.

Because, at that point, Senator Barack Obama will become "President-Elect" Barack Obama.

And, at this point, Obama winning Florida and Virginia looks like a definite possibility. Actually, you could add in Ohio and say "if Obama wins any two of these, he'll win." Or even, if you really trust all the other poll numbers, "if Obama wins any one of these, he's got it in the bag."

Which (as I pointed out) will lead to a very short Election Night.

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I've been saying for a while now that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki holds the upper hand in the game of "chicken" he's playing with George Bush over negotiating a Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) for American troops to legally stay in Iraq past the first of next year. Now it appears both sides are pretty close to admitting that there will be no agreement, and that they had better start talking about some sort of short-term arrangement, which would allow whoever America's next president is to take over the negotiating table.

Maliki, through all of this, has proved to be nobody's fool. He knows what is going on politically in America, and pretty much everything that has happened this year has strengthened his bargaining position. George Bush's approval ratings are now officially worse than Nixon's ever were. His disapproval rating is the highest ever recorded. And the U.S. election is three weeks away.

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The nomination of Sarah Palin for the Republican vice-presidential ticket has brought a lot of media attention to the Alaskan political scene. But while Palin's record and past deeds are being combed over by all and sundry, there are plenty of other scandals worth looking into up in the Last Frontier State. For instance, there is the case of Senator Ted Stevens. And I mean "case" quite literally, since Stevens is currently running for re-election -- while simultaneously defending himself against corruption charges in a federal court case. Whenever the verdict in the Stevens case comes in, it will doubtlessly cause another flurry of media attention northwards.

For those interested in the backstory of the octopus-like reach of the VECO corruption investigation, there is currently no better inside look at the entire mess than the amazing new book Last Bridge To Nowhere, by author Frank Prewitt. Prewitt has a unique perspective on the entire mess, since he was the F.B.I.'s "Confidential Source #1" throughout the evidence-gathering phase of the long-running investigation. Codenamed "Patient," Prewitt spent countless hours documenting sleazy deals, payoffs, bribes, and other shenanigans; often wearing a wire and taping encounters to provide court evidence.

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While we're all waiting for someone to leak the Palin Troopergate Report (which is reminiscent of waiting for "Fitzmas" during the whole Scooter Libby fiasco), let us take a brief look at the presidential race.

Things are getting pretty nasty out on the McCain campaign trail, it seems. Not much talk of "reaching across the aisle" these days. Now, while anyone with a halfway-decent brain saw this coming, this obviously doesn't include most of the mainstream media. Of course the end of the campaign was going to be nasty. Of course McCain and his minions were going to throw everything they could at Obama. Barack Obama himself knew this was coming. Democrats should have known it was coming. It's the old story of the scorpion and the frog -- McCain is getting nasty because he's a Republican candidate for president. "I'm a Republican, it's my nature," in other words.

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