Ok, I Give Up.

I give up. I've gone silent for quite a while now because I'm absolutely consumed with politics. I didn't want this to be a political blog, and I'm thinking about almost nothing else until after the election, so I decided to shut up.

But I can't shut up anymore. Politics is simply too much of what I care about and too much a part of who I am. So, until the election, I will begin posting my own political commentary, but even more frequently I will be posting the best articles, poll analysis, and political commentary that I've come across. This election cycle seems to be the cycle where the blogosphere has really come into it's own. Not just a place for ranting anymore, blogs are often doing the serious and important journalism that the traditional media doesn't do.

So, if you hate politics or if they bore you, check in again on November 5th. Actually, better make it November 6th. I will likely spend the 5th celebrating or crying.

Today's recommended reads:

• Credit Where It's Due - a great posting from someone reflecting on how Obama has managed to strike the right tone over and over again, even as Democrats try to push him to be "angrier". Angry is just not part of who Obama is, and I think Obama understands that slow and steady wins the race.
  
  Excerpt:

  When you think about it, it's astounding. A first term African-American Senator with an Arabic name who is descended from and still related to Muslims in the post-9/11 era is on the verge of being elected President of the United States. If you submitted this script to Hollywood, they'd laugh you off the lot.

• McCain is pulling out of Michigan. One look at the trend lines for Michigan make it clear that he is losing ground there quickly. This is horrible news for McCain supporters. There are very few scenarios in which McCain can win the presidency and lose Michigan.
  
  
• Of course, tonight's big political news is the V.P. debate. This debate is 100% about Palin. Nobody will care about Biden at all. In fact, I heard someone say, "If people are talking about Biden after the debate tonight, then he messed up big." After Palin's cringe-worthy interviews with Katie Couric over the last week, the country is going to be watching to see if she can redeem herself. This is actually a better format for her than the Couric interviews. There will be fewer follow-up questions (where she really falls apart) and the questions will be more predictable. I don't think Sarah Palin is stupid, I think she just has an astonishing lack of knowledge about the issues our country faces. Until tonight's debate, enjoy her greatest hits.
  
  
• Time magazine's Joe Klein, a long supporter of McCain until recent months has a new column out today called "Anger vs. Steadiness in the Crisis" in which he contrasts the two temperaments of Obama and McCain.
  
  Excerpt:
  

  A few hours before the house of Representatives smacked down the financial-bailout package, I watched John McCain — eyes flashing, jaw clenched, oozing sarcasm and disdain — on the attack in Ohio: "Senator Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first he didn't want to get involved. Then he was 'monitoring the situation.' That's not leadership; that's watching from the sidelines." And I thought of Karl Rove. Back in 2003, at the height of Howard Dean mania, Rove was skeptical about Dean's staying power as a candidate: "When was the last time Americans elected an angry President?"