From the invocation at a McCain rally in Davenport, Iowa:

“There are millions of people around this world praying to their god — whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah — that his [McCain’s] opponent wins, for a variety of reasons,” said Arnold Conrad, former pastor of Grave Evangelical Free Church. “And Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name in all that happens between now and Election Day.”

That might strike some as provocative given persistent, false rumors that Democrat Barack Obama is a Muslim. Sen. Obama is Christian.

And it might strike some as silly that the McCain-Palin God needs to guard His reputation by assuring McCain's election.

The Associated Press reports today that as Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin blurred the lines between church and state and billed taxpayers for her attendance at religious events:

An Associated Press review of the Republican vice presidential candidate's record as mayor and governor reveals her use of elected office to promote religious causes, sometimes at taxpayer expense and in ways that blur the line between church.

Since she took state office in late 2006, the governor and her family have spent more than $13,000 in taxpayer funds to attend at least 10 religious events and meetings with Christian pastors, including Franklin Graham, the son of evangelical preacher Billy Graham, records show.

More...

Referring to the angry McCain-Palin supporters who yell "traitor" and "treason" and "terrorist" when John McCain or Sarah Palin mention his name, Barack Obama said:

“Nothing’s easier than riling up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that’s not what we need right now in the United States."

One might hope that cautionary statement would be uncontroversial, an invitation to civility that the McCain campaign would readily accept. Instead, the comment provoked an attack.

“Barack Obama’s assault on our supporters is insulting and unsurprising,” McCain senior adviser Nicolle Wallace said in a statement, “These are the same people Obama called ‘bitter’ and attacked for ‘clinging to guns’ and faith."

[more ...]

The Gators' season is on the line tonight as they host LSU. This is a must win game if their season is to be a success. Meanwhile, the world economy is on the line this weekend as the G-7 ministers meet in Washington. Krugman is not inspiring confidence with his take on the proceedings. Might be time to relearn these lines:

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob, . . . They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead, Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread? Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time. Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

It's the end of the World as we know it:

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

DKos R200 has Obama up 12, 52-40. Newsweek has Obama up 11, 52-41. Gallup has Obama up 10, 51-41. Battleground has Obama up 8, 51-43. Fox has Obama up 7, 46-39. Hotline has Obama up 7, 48-41.

In case you haven't noticed, the Presidential election is over.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The full TrooperGate report is here (pdf). Pages 65-67 with key findings on Gov. Sarah Palin are reproduced here (pdf).

Below are some key excerpts from the report, followed by several news articles showing that contrary to claims by Palin and the McCain campaign, the investigation was bipartisan from start to finish -- and Palin herself initially pledged to cooperate with the legislature. [More...]

TrooperGate report is out. Findings: Gov. Sarah Palin abused the power of her office.

The report by investigator Steve Branchflower found that Palin violated the state's executive branch ethics act, which says that "each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."

The full report is here (pdf.) The vote to release it was unanimous. I'll update as I read it.

Pages 65 to 67, reproduced here, explain the finding that Palin abused the power of her office.

Florida's Jewish voters are not happy with Sarah Palin, and many who thought they might vote for McCain have now decided otherwise.

As one Jewish voter, Jamie Erenreich, puts it:

She finds so much about Palin objectionable that she almost doesn't know where to begin. There's the abortion issue, for one. Palin "wouldn't want anyone to have an abortion even for rape or incest," says Jamie. "Who is she to judge by telling me how to live my life and overturning the things women have worked so hard for?"

Equally disconcerting is Palin's seeming shallowness on some of the most pressing matters facing the country. "She doesn't know what she is talking about and makes it up as she goes along," says Jamie. "The fact that she had to be coached for two weeks [to prepare for the vice presidential debate] tells me she doesn't know anything. She just talks in circles."

Political scientists and polling data explain. [More...]

Newsweek released a new poll today. Sen. Barack Obama leads John McCain by 11 points, 52% to 41%.

The chief reason: the economy. Another: voter disapproval of Sarah Palin.

While 60 percent of voters think Palin would fit in well with their local community, only 39 percent of those surveyed say they believe McCain's running mate is qualified to serve as president, while 55 believe she is not.

Obama leads with almost every group of voters.

He now leads McCain among both men (54 percent to 40 percent) and women (50 percent to 41 percent). He now wins every age group of voters—including those over 65 years of age, who back him over McCain 49 to 43 percent.

88% of former Hillary supporters are now on board with Obama: [More...]

Republican anger is the story of the day.

Video interviews by confrontational Barack Obama supporters at John McCain rallies are shooting up the YouTube charts, revealing angry and nasty anti-Obama sentiment that is in turn motivational for the Democratic presidential contender’s supporters.

Besieged by unflattering stories about Sarah Palin pumping up angry crowds who shout "traitor" and "liar" and worse, as well as criticism of his own attempt to paint Barack Obama as "the other," even referring to him in the last town hall as "that one," John McCain finally corrected a questioner who called Obama an Arab:

[more ...]

From Arizona:

Arizona is getting a nearly $1.4 million federal grant to see if some people serving time in state prison have been wrongfully convicted.

From Texas:

Governing magazine has named Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins one of its public officials of the year. They call him a "courageous district attorney" in a press release for his focus on wrongful convictions.

Fernando Bermudez' conviction should leave you feeling a bit queasy. On the basis of eyewitness testimony, a jury found him guilty of shooting and killing a teenager in 1992.

Magistrate Judge Fox found that detectives allowed four of them to view mugshots together, during which time they accused Mr. Bermudez by consensus. Such "flawed" and "suggestive" identification procedures, according to [Bermudez'] brief, were not revealed at trial.

Mr. Bermudez was convicted on the basis of that eyewitness testimony, along with testimony by a fifth eyewitness. Six other witnesses who separately viewed the same series of mugshots failed to pick out Mr. Bermudez, according to the brief.

At trial, prosecutors presented no forensic evidence, no fingerprints, no motive, no blood or DNA evidence.

All five eyewitnesses have since recanted their testimony. [more ...]