TalkLeft was difficult to access this morning. A lot of the problems have to do with traffic at third party sites. For example, our "twit this" button caused the page not to load, probably because their site is overloaded.

I've stripped the site of widgets, including TalkLeft's and Headline News widgets. I've also removed the affiliate shopping ads.

Hopefully that will solve the problems. Colin, our webmaster, is keeping an eye on things and will solve problems should any more arise.

We also have a backup site, in case we actually go down. Please bookmark it now. If you forget, it's easy to remember -- TalkLeftDenver - at- blogspot.com.

Update:

The same weather pattern was responsible for unusually balmy conditions for voters throughout the Midwest, from Detroit and Minneapolis to Des Moines and St. Louis. Some voters said the favorable weather made the crowds friendlier and the long waits more bearable.

original post:

In Madison, Wisconsin, it is an unseasonably summery day, with sunny skies and a predicted high temperature of 72. Whether this is a happy artifact of global warming or divine intervention, the weather will make it easy to stand in line at the polls if that's what it takes to cast an Obama vote.

Will "Center Right" America choose Socialism? According to John McCain and the polls, they will.

Final polls:

Dkos/R2000 - Obama 51, McCain 46
ABC/WaPo - Obama 53. McCain 44
NBC/WSJ - Obama 51, McCain 43
CBS - Obama 51, McCain 42
Fox - Obama 50, McCain 43
Gallup - Obama 55, McCain 44
IBD/TIPP - Obama 52, McCain 44
CNN - Obama 53, McCain 46
Ipsos/McClatchey, Obama 53, McCain 46
Hotline - Obama 50, McCain 45
Pew, Obama 52, McCain 46
Battleground, Obama 52, McCain 46

My prediction remains the same - Obama 52.5, McCain 46.5.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Hours before the polls open, Sarah Palin hopes to silence questions about her health and ethics. In a two page letter released yesterday, Palin's doctor proclaims her physically fit to do whatever it is that a Vice President Palin would do (shudder). Andrew Sullivan thinks the late disclosure represents "a giant finger to the press."

Palin's ethical fitness is a stickier question. A report conveniently released yesterday by Alaska's Personnel Board found that Sarah Palin violated no ethics rules when she fired the state police commissioner.

Bruce Springstseen for Obama in Cleveland yesterday, singing The Rising. "We are at the crossroads." Below, Jackson Browne and For America [More...]

The New York Times reports that CBS and Slate may call the election before the polls close around the country. I hope they do.

I think it will be an early night and the outcome will be known as soon as Ohio, PA, Florida, Indiana and Virginia are projected. CBS says:

"We can’t be in this position of hiding our heads in the sand when the story is obvious.”

Similarly, the editor of the Web site Slate, David Plotz, said in an e-mail message that “if Obama is winning heavily,” he could see calling the race “sometime between 8 and 9.”

“Our readers are not stupid, and we shouldn’t engage in a weird Kabuki drama that pretends McCain could win California and thus the presidency,” Mr. Plotz wrote. “We will call it when a sensible person — not a TV news anchor who has to engage in a silly pretense about West Coast voters — would call it.”

Why drag it out? Let's begin the celebration early.

Markos of Daily Kos gives his electoral vote predictions. He thinks Obama will win 390 to 148.

It's time for me to give my prediction: Obama either wins 383 to 155 or 356 to 182. My maps are below:

Just heard him say it on ESPN in an interview at halftime of Monday Night football. He is 100% correct. Course that means the SEC would win the national championship every year. That's change we can believe in.

Oh BTW, how about them Gators?

This is an Open Thread.

A lot of eyes will be on Virginia tomorrow. Today, a federal judge rejected a lawsuit by the NAACP to extend voting hours.

The lawsuit, filed last week, contends that the state is violating the U.S. and state constitutions by not providing enough voting machines, poll workers and polling places, particularly in precincts with large minority populations. The shortages could result in long lines and lost votes, the suit says.

"We are urging all voters to stand in line," NAACP President Ben Jealous said after the ruling. "Americans have waited 230 years for this -- a multi-gender, multi-generational, multiracial [campaign]. This is a big day. Stay in line."

Disabled and elederly voters can vote curbside. And anyone in line at 7pm when the polls close will get to vote. There are more than 5 million registered voters in the state.

Via the LA Times, Karl Rove has released his final electoral map predictions.

The final Rove & Co. electoral map (pdf)of the 2008 election cycle points to a 338-200 Barack Obama electoral vote victory over John McCain tomorrow.

All remaining toss-up states have been allocated to the candidate leading in them, with Florida (27 EV) going to Obama, and Indiana (11 EV), Missouri (11 EV), North Carolina (15 EV), and North Dakota (3 EV) going to McCain. The two candidates are in a dead heat in Missouri and North Carolina, but they go to McCain because the most recent polls conducted over this past weekend show him narrowly ahead. Florida, too, could end up in McCain’s column since he’s benefited from recent movement in the state.

Rove's predictions are only 1 EV different than Democratic strategist William Arnone's which I wrote about here.

It will be an early election night if Obama takes PA, FL and Ohio. Does anyone forsee any surprises? I think Obama has a decent shot at North Carolina and a chance at Indiana. I won't be surprised if he tops 350 electoral votes. But I'll gladly take 338 or 339.

The National Journal interviewed a lot of bloggers about the role blogs played in this year's presidential election and their predictions for tomorrow.

Not surprisingly, some bloggers viewed themselves as engaging readers in the political process and others as media watchdogs.The actual question we were asked was "What role do you think bloggers in general (and your blog in particular) have played in this election cycle?"

My answer:

Holding the primary candidates' feet to the fire. Debunking right-wing spin. Promoting individual engagement in the electoral process (through comments which have generated communities of commenters.)

The predictions, broken down by Left and right leaning blogs are here. Of the Right wing blogs. 59% say Obama will win, 41% say McCain will win. On the left, 100% of the bloggers call it for Obama.

William Arnone, author of previous reports on the key states in the primaries and the electoral vote, has prepared his final assessment of who is likely to carry each state in Tuesday's Presidential election. I am publishing the report with his permission.

His summary:

The final assessment shows that the Democratic ticket of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware will win 27 states (including the District of Columbia) and part of one state (Nebraska) with 339 electoral votes.

The Republican Presidential ticket of Senator John McCain of Arizona and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska will win 23 states and parts of one state (Nebraska) with 199 electoral votes. The number of electoral votes needed to win is 270.

More...