Bush has been at this from the summer.

NPR has learned that the raid by helicopter-borne U.S. Special Operations forces in Pakistan last week was not an isolated incident but part of a three-phase plan, approved by President Bush, to strike at Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaida leadership.

The plan calls for a much more aggressive military campaign, said one source, familiar with the presidential order, which gives the green light for the military to take part in the operations. The plan represents an 11th-hour effort by the Bush administration to hammer al-Qaida before the November election, two government officials told NPR.

Bush is pushing for an October surprise. We have to make sure Obama has the resources to counter that effort.

Georgia's in play! Can you believe it? If Obama has the resources he could cause McCain to spread himself thin by forcing him to defend more and more red states, leaving the McCain campaign ineffectual, and insure an Obama victory on election day. Unfortunately, Obama's donations have fallen by half in the first 15 days of October. This is part of the complacency that Obama has been warning about.

As the national press has skewed a lot of their coverage against Obama, the large financial advantage he has enjoyed has given the campaign the ability to counteract the narrative that the MSM would like to present. Being able to pay for so much airtime has allowed Obama to define himself on his own terms, in spite of the media's bias presentation.

The more money Obama has the more he can handicap the McCain campaign. I just donated again to the campaign. I've been asked to get involved in the New Hampshire, which I intend to do.

Let me start by saying I lost respect for Powell after his UN speech in February 2003. That said, some voters still regard Powell enough to be swayed by him. We should give credit where credit is due. The Washington Post has the following

First on Powell - Two in 10 independent voters (20%) said they are more inclined to vote for Obama because of Powell's backing; 4 percent said they were nudged the other way...

In polling after the Powell nod, Obama trails McCain by 19-points on the question of who would be a better commander in chief. But McCain's advantage as prospective commander in chief is sharply diminished from early September, when he held a whopping 43-point lead on the question coming out of the nominating conventions.

Thanks General Powell.

Update: Here is TPM's Track Composite from Sunday to today.

Sunday October 19th - Obama is ahead 49.9%-43.9%, a lead of 6.0 points
Monday October 20th - Obama is ahead 50.1%-43.7%, a lead of 6.4 points
Tuesday October 21st - Obama is ahead 50.5%-43.1%, a lead of 7.4 points,
Wednesday October 22nd - Obama is ahead 51.3%-43.1%, a lead of 8.2 points
Thursday October 23rd - Obama is ahead 51.5%-43.1%, a lead of 8.4 points

A shift of 2.4 points over the past 4 days is a lot. Polls swing back and forth, if nothing else Powell's endorsement has helped run out 4 days on the clock. I suspect some of this effect will persist.

The WSJ isn't to happy about it.

Link

Sarah has spend $150,000 on clothing and accessories. That's for the 60 days of the presidential campaign. That comes to $2,500 per day. You gotta wonder what the implications will be. After several weeks of personal attacks against Obama, the McCain campaign says that there are more important problems to talk about then Palin's clothing budget. Could they be any more out of touch? Context is everything. This is not the "me me" 80's or the affluent 90's. We are staring at a severe recession or maybe even a depression. I can't imagine this playing well in "real America." Even there, this is going to damage her "mavericky," "small town" "fiscally responsible" credibility.

There is nothing real about these people. It is all a show.

The RNC claims they intended to give these clothes to charity. What charity? Carly Fiorina? Who can afford to care for $8,000 pantsuits? I have a $1,200 leather jacket that I can't afford to clean. Me thinks the charity thing is bull.

Sarah has spend $150,000 on clothing and accessories. That's for the 60 days of the presidential campaign. That comes to $2,500 per day. You gotta wonder what the implications will be. After several weeks of personal attacks against Obama, the McCain campaign says that there are more important problems then Palin's clothing budget to talk about. Could they be any more out of touch? Context is everything. This is not the "me me" 80's or the affluent 90's. We are staring at a severe recession or maybe even a depression. I can't imagine this playing well in "real America." Even there, this is going to damage her "mavericky," "small town" "fiscally responsible" credibility.

There is nothing real about these people. It is all a show.

Remember how you belittled Powell last week. See how Powell tears McCain/Palin a new one.

Obama collected over 150 million in September shattering all previous presidential campaign funding raising records. In contrast George Bush collected 296 million for the entire 2004 primaries. Direct comparisons of general election fundraising isn't possible since Obama is the first presidential candidate in more than 30 years to forego public funding for the general election.

3.1 million people contributed to the campaign. The average donation was below $100.

It is likely that Obama will collect over 300 million in total for the general election giving him a 4 to 1 advantage over McCain.

The natural reaction by some individuals would be to assume the the campaign has enough money. However, considering the historic nature of this campaign and McCain's willingness to play the race-muslim-terrorist card, Obama needs a considerable amount of funds to counter the the republican/McCain sleaze machine, including their concerted effort to discredit voters in battleground states. They have to fund a huge ground operation, advertising, lawyers & legal action etc ... I just donated $100 after I read about the September haul. I hope their donations break another record this month.

Go Obama!!!