Obama Cavorts With Terriers: A Random-Ass Roundup.

I Don’t Trust Obama. He’s an, uh, Arab. The Crazy McCain Lady. And since we’re laughing at ignorant Republicans and SNL, we would be remiss in not pointing out that Palin is going to be on the show tonight.
The Paper Trail. Remember a little while back when everyone was worried that the Obama camp’s decision to forgo public financing was a big mistake? No? Neither does the Obama camp, which is set to announce another fund-raising record: a mind-boggling $100 million haul for September. Most of that dough is going to TV ads, where he is out-spending the relatively cash-strapped McCain, four-to-one.

Changing Dad’s Mind. bitchphd is trying gamely to persuade her father to vote “no” on Proposition 8, the ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in California. And it looks like every vote may count: the latest SurveyUSA poll shows a dead-heat.
Make it Rain. The economy is tanking and it’s gonna be a while before it bounces back. So what does newly minted Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman suggest? That the government should spend like mad. And his argument isn’t as crazy as it sounds.
Racist Robocall Rants in Western PA. “Over in Indiana, PA and Northern Cambria, PA, volunteers fielded complaints of a massive wave of ugly robocalls both paid for by John McCain’s campaign and those paid for by third parties. The third party call was interactive, and purported to be from Barack Obama himself. The call starts out reasonably, and then “Obama” asks what the listener thinks is the most important issue. Whatever the response, “Obama” then launches into a profane and crazed tirade using “n***er” and other shock language.” [FiveThirtyEight ] Susan Collins, the Republican Senator from Maine, is asking the McCain camp to stop the robocalls.

In the Tank! The LAT “enthusiastically” endorses Obama, the first time it has endorsed a presidential candidate since the 1970s. The Sun-Times follows the lead of its Windy City rival, and throws its hat behind Obama as well. (You can now add to that list the Denver Post and the Miami Herald. ) Overall, he has picked up three times as many newspaper endorsements as John McCain. Michael Smerconish, a conservative radio host in Philly, says he will vote for Obama — the first time he’s ever cast a ballot for a Democrat. There’s also lots of speculation that Colin Powell will endorse Obama on MTP tomorrow.

Scapegoating ACORN. Megan at Jezebel explains says the Republican outrage over ACORN has nothing to do with voter fraud. “So, let’s call this what it is. … It is…as other people have already noted, an effort to de-legitimize Obama’s presumptive victory. Republicans are hoping it’s a cost-free way of saying to their core constituency on November 5th, ‘It wasn’t our fault! It was those people! They stole the election.’ I guess in some parts of this country, since they have to count every vote as a full person, they’d just prefer to count as few of them as possible.”

Speaking of Voter Fraud… Megan may be pleased to know that the Obama camp isn’t taking the allegations lightly, and has asked for a special prosecutor to look into whether the Republican investigations of ACORN’s voter registatrions are politically motivated. Related: in a case on voter suppression in Ohio, theSupreme Court ruled unanimously on the side of Ohio Democrats.
Who Really Cares? The NYT fronted a big piece on Cindy McCain. The McCain camp is faux-livid about it (surprise?) and while it’s not exactly a hit job, it is pretty gossipy and irrelevant. (And besides, this New Yorker piece is better.)