Barack Obama's grandmother died. He took a break from campaigning to visit her a little more than a week ago.

"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer," Obama said in a joint statement with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility."

Rest in peace, Madelyn Dunham.

Not the biggest deal but I hate silly stupid stuff whether its the Media or the blogs. In this case it is a twofer. Both the normally solid NYTimes reporter John Harwood and MYDD blogger Todd Beeton forward the idea that Barack Obama is outperforming Bill Clinton among white voters. Harwood writes:

In last week's New York Times/CBS News poll, Mr. Obama drew 44 percent support among whites -- a higher proportion than Bill Clinton captured in his general election victories.

More . . .

As Jeralyn discussed earlier today, a military commission jury voted to convict Ali Hamza al-Bahlul of 35 crimes, including solicitation to commit murder and providing material support to terrorism. This result should not shock, given Bahlul's refusal to defend himself and his lawyer's decision to respect Bahlul's desire to present no defense. You may recall that the judge allowed the proceeding to proceed even after Bahlul's lawyer refused to participate.

The 35 convictions do not shock, but this does:

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In an editorial today, the Casper Tribune endorsed Sen. Barack Obama. It says Obama is better on economic and energy issues and McCain flubbed by picking Gov. Sarah Palin. In describing McCain it says:

If the John McCain of 2000 saw today's counterpart, he wouldn't recognize himself. McCain is no longer a GOP maverick, or the war hero whose principles were unwavering. He has flip-flopped on issues ranging from tax cuts to torture in an effort to win over the conservative base of his party. He has waged a dismal campaign based on fear and divisiveness.

On Obama: [More...]

Sen. Barack Obama has received the endorsement of three leading Jewish newspapers:

• Detroit Jewish News
• Los Angeles Jewish Observer
• Washington Jewish Week

Here's a very moving video by Israelis who support Obama.

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The fat lady is singing pollwise:

With just one day to go before Election Day, Barack Obama has a 7 percentage point lead over John McCain -- 50-43 percent, according to the final FOX News pre-election poll of likely voters. At the end of October, Obama led by 47-44 percent among likely voters, and by 49-40 percent about ten days ago (Oct 20-21).

Update - And now the last resisters among the polls fall - IBD/TIPP has Obama by 5 and Battleground has Obama by 6. Not a single poll, not one, has Obama with less than a 5 point lead.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Remember the juror in the Alaska trial of Sen. Ted Stevens who didn't show because her father died?

It was a lie. She went to a horse race.

It looks like she is delusional. The Judge doesn't appear to want to penalize her:

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan let her go, saying that he was going to "accept Mr. Kramer's representation that you were not able to (deliberate) and for reasons that were serious to you."

He added: "I'm convinced you were not able to deliberate."

She also said had she deliberated, she would have voted to convict.

Now beyond parody, Keith Olbermann. Good gawd. Does NBC have no shame anymore?

This is an Open Thread.

The thoughts on Olbermann are solely my own.

Bump and Update: Ali Hamza al Bahlul has been found guilty at his Guantanamo Military Commissions trial.The ACLU says (statement to be available here shortly):

“The conviction of Al Bahlul is yet another example of a military commission system set up to produce convictions, not to deliver real justice. Unfortunately, because the system is fundamentally flawed and lacks any semblance of due process, a cloud of illegitimacy hangs over this verdict. The world deserves better than that from America. The next president should close Guantánamo and future prosecutions should occur in criminal or military courts where the Constitution still means something and where verdicts, no matter what they are, can be trusted.” ...The ACLU calls on the next president to close Guantánamo, ban torture and end extraordinary rendition.

Original Post:

McCain vs. Obama on Gitmo Trials

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The landslide tomorrow will be a DEMOCRATIC landslide, not a post partisan unity schtick landslide. Congressional Dems will win bigger than Obama. So says Gallup:

Gallup's final pre-election allocated estimate of the national 2008 vote for Congress -- from Gallup Poll Daily tracking conducted Oct. 31-Nov. 2 -- gives the Democrats a 12 percentage-point lead over the Republicans among likely voters, 53% to 41%. . . . In 2006, Gallup found the Democrats with an 11-point lead among registered voters, and a 7-point lead among likely voters, right before the election. The Democrats won 54.1% of all votes cast nationally for Congress, and a 31-seat advantage. On that basis alone, their current 12-point generic ballot lead could result in a higher share of the two-party vote than they had in 2006.

This is what a fair, honest and reasonable observer would call a mandate for Democratic progressive change.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Quinnipiac released its final big swing state poll this morning. Obama is ahead in Ohio and PA. Florida is too close to call.

"Sen. Obama appears headed for the best showing of any Democratic candidate among white voters in a generation, going back at least to Jimmy Carter in 1976 and perhaps even to Lyndon Johnson in 1964," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Obama leads by 10 in PA and 7 in Ohio. He's up 2 in FL, within the margin of error. As for McCain's last stand in PA:

"In the end, Sen. John McCain's troops in Central Pennsylvania, led by veterans, disaffected Sen. Hillary Clinton supporters and God and gun clingers, will be swept over by a wave of young black and urban new voters, giving Sen. Barack Obama the Keystone State," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

[More...]

Via Atrios, check out this list of 2008 electoral moments. If it were put to music, I hear Billy Joel and We Didn't Start the Fire.

This is an open thread.