Nate Silver just posted his analysis of the California exit polls and voting patterns on proposition 8.  Like all reason-minded people, he cautioned against blaming any racial group for passage of the controversial amendment.

Certainly, the No on 8 folks might have done a better job of outreach to California's black and Latino communities. But the notion that Prop 8 passed because of the Obama turnout surge is silly. Exit polls suggest that first-time voters -- the vast majority of whom were driven to turn out by Obama (he won 83 percent [!] of their votes) -- voted against Prop 8 by a 62-38 margin. More experienced voters voted for the measure 56-44, however, providing for its passage.

However, there is something notable about this post.  It's what he didn't say.

Cross posted at Motley Moose.

At the end of September, I speculated that the long anticipated October Surprise might be a surprise announcement from Sen. McCain that he would only serve one term in office.  Other bloggers obsessed over a non-existent "whitey" tape or about the possibility of a foreign policy move by the Bush administration or by one of our adversaries.

Today, the foundering McCain campaign may have played it's final card.

This evening, Research 2000/Daily Kos released a poll that put Democrat Becky Greenwald within 5 points of Republican incumbent Rep. Tom Latham.

This shouldn't be a shocker in a district where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by 8694 voters (a nearly 15,000 voter swing from 2006, when Republicans outnumber Democrats).  This shouldn't be a shocker in a district with a PVI of D+0.4.  But this is not a typical race.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president on Meet the Press this morning.

Cross-posted at Motley Moose.

On Tuesday, the DCCC announced that it was adding Becky Greenwald (IA-4) to its Red to Blue program. The Red to Blue program was created to provide financial and logistical support for Democrats in competitive races for Republican-held seats.

Last night, John McCain tried to tie his smear campaign against Barack Obama to comments made by Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary campaign this spring.

"I don't care about an old washed up terrorist, but as Senator (Hillary) Clinton said in her debates with you, we need to know the full extent of the relationship with you."

Cross-posted at Motley Moose.

This afternoon, the Supreme Court in Connecticut overturned the state's ban on gay marriage in a 4-3 decision.

From Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Palmer:

We conclude that, in light of the history of pernicious discrimination faced by gay men and lesbians, and because the institution of marriage carries with it a status and significance that the newly created classification of civil unions does not embody, the segregation of heterosexual and homosexual couples into separate institutions constitutes a cognizable harm.

Cross-posted at Motley Moose.

In light of the historic--and troubling--events that transpired on Capital Hill, I believe it's worth looking at how our presidential candidates responded.  In a moment of crisis in which the people are anxious and Congress cannot overcome partisan bickering, how did Senator Obama and Senator McCain react?