Bob Herbert misses the point:

The problem with Ms. Palin’s candidacy is that John McCain might actually win this election, and then if something terrible happened, the country could be left with little more than an exclamation point as president.

(Emphasis supplied.) Excuse me Mr. Herbert, the real threat is that John McCain might be President. This strange fixation on Sarah Palin ignores the real problem - that John McCain would be President. This is the height of Palin Derangement Syndrome - the belief that the real threat from John McCain is that Sarah Palin might become Vice President. The real risk of John McCain's candidacy is that McCAIN might be President.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Gail Collins writes:

[Sarah Palin] appeared to agree with Dick Cheney’s manic theory that the vice president is a member of both the executive and legislative branches . . .

Um, Article 1, Sections 3 of the Constitution (Titled "The Legislative Branch, The Senate") states in part:

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

More . . .

Top of the morning to you all. I strangely find myself with little to say at the this time. So it is your turn.

Oh, and Go Gators! Don't stink today!

This is an Open Thread.

Update: O.J. guilty on all counts, live blog of verdict below.

The verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial is about to be read. Streaming live site is here or here.

It was 13 years ago today that the jury reached a not guilty verdict in his murder trial.

The jury has been deliberating since 8:30 a.m. this morning. The jury instructions are here (pdf). From the Las Vegas Sun:

The charges they face include 11 felonies (Conspiracy to commit kidnapping; conspiracy to commit burglary; burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon; and two counts each of first degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon; robbery with use of a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon; and coercion with use of a deadly weapon. They also face one gross misdemeanor, conspiracy to commit a crime.

The jury has the power to drop "use of a deadly weapon" from the nine weapons-related charges if they choose to do so.

I watched the closing arguments this afternoon at The Legal Edge. I finished feeling nervous for O.J., thinking he needs a holdout. With the verdict coming in this soon, I'm not optimistic he got one. And yes, I'm rooting for O.J.

I'll live-blog the verdict below.

High school football night. I need to pick a team. My Gators stink, but I'll be rooting for them tomorrow when they visit Arkansas.

This is an Open Thread.

In addition to putting John McCain off his game, the burgeoning financial crisis kept President Bush away from Republican fundraisers for the past couple of weeks. Although Bush's approval rate has dropped to a record low 22 percent, he can still generate money from his die-hard supporters.

Freed from the need to stay in Washington and lobby for bailout votes, Bush can now hit the fundraisers. And so he will, no matter how ironic they might be.

About 20 minutes after signing the bill, he was on his way to a fundraising swing that will take him to Missouri and Texas. His first stop: a St. Louis fundraiser for Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who is running for governor -- and voted against the legislation. Twice.

This afternoon's news dump includes the 2006 and 2007 tax returns of Sarah and Todd Palin, summarized on the McCain campaign website with links to copies of the returns.

For 2006, the Palins paid $11,944 (LINE 63) in total taxes on gross income of $127,869 (LINE 37), which is a 9.3% tax rate. For 2007, the Palins paid $24,738 (LINE 63) in total taxes on gross income of $166,080 (LINE 37), which is a 14.9% tax rate. ...

In 2007, Sarah and Todd Palin donated $2,500 to charity in cash/check donations and $825 in non-cash/check donations, for a total of $3,325. This is 1.5% of their adjusted gross income.

On July 25, the question was:

If this is McCain's notion of a respectful campaign, what will we see if he decides to get nasty?

Now we have the answer.

The McCain campaign has now shifted virtually 100 percent of his national ad spending into negative ads attacking Obama, a detailed breakdown of his ad buys reveals. By contrast, the Obama campaign is devoting less than half of his spending on ads attacking McCain. More than half of its spending is going to a spot that doesn't once mention his foe.

John McCain has consistently breached his promise to run a respectful campaign. Now the promise has been abandoned. Going negative is all he has left.

Did you know this?

The bailout bill also gives the Internal Revenue Service new authority to conduct undercover operations. It would immunize the IRS from a passel of federal laws, including permitting IRS agents to run businesses for an extended sting operation, to open their own personal bank accounts with U.S. tax dollars, and so on. (Think IRS agents posing as accountants or tax preparers and saying, "I'm not sure if that deduction is entirely legal, but it'll save you $1,000. Want to take it?") That section had expired as of January 1, 2008, and would now be renewed.

[more ...]

Today's Presidential Polls:

Whether it succeeds or fails, elected officials and business leaders alike said it stands to fundamentally alter the relationship between government and the private markets perhaps in ways that are not immediately clear.

Passage was hardly a victory for the Bush Administration: [More....]

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Comedian Sarah Silverman has a new video, The Great Schlep, urging young Jewish voters to go to Florida and convince their grandparents to vote for Sen. Barack Obama. (Viewer discretion advised for profanity.)

The Great Schlep's website has these talking points contrasting Obama and Biden with McCain and Palin. Topics oovered: [More...]