With the deadline looming today in many states, voter registration soared.

In a glimpse of what the nation might see a month from now, people lined up at election offices and caused parking lot traffic jams as voter registration deadlines fell Monday in more than a dozen states. Many officials reported record numbers of new voters, some said they were overwhelmed, and allegations were already flying about fraud and the disqualification of some voters' applications.

Does anyone seriously believe support for maintaining Bush as President is generating this response?

Political Brew is sponsoring a contest and you can win $500.00.

Play Electoral College Pick'em and win $500! How does it work? You pick the winner in 14 different battleground states and assign point values to each. Get the state right, win that many points. Get it wrong? Lose that many points. Whoever has the highest total wins! All entries must be made by October 8th to keep players in suspense. Only one entry per player is allowed.

[link via Instapundit.]

Digby explains this image.

If the shoe fits.....

Bloomberg News analyzes the boost in the polls Kerry received from the debate.

Democratic challenger John Kerry may get a lift in the polls, judging by the responses of undecided voters who said he dominated his first debate with President George W. Bush. Instant polls by the Gallup Organization, ABC News and CBS News immediately after Thursday night's debate found Kerry ahead by as much as 16 percentage points on the question of who won the encounter. Five of the 18 voters in the focus group by Republican pollster Frank Luntz said they moved from undecided to supporting Kerry, Luntz said in a press release. None switched to Bush.

Dave Cullen of Conclusive Evidence takes a closer look and says the results are even more impressive for Kerry:

We have all been celebrating because Kerry won by 10-20 points, which is astounding, of course. But that includes hard-core Rs who see everything through rightwing eyes, and would call Bush the winner if he sat on the floor slurping oatmeal for 90 minutes.

The horse trading that went on to establish the Cheney-Edwards debate rules is telling of Republican fears. Both men will be seated at a table instead of standing in a town hall setting. Why? The Washington Post reports,

Republicans feared such a format would allow Edwards to walk about like a lawyer giving a closing statement and maximize his presumed skill in engaging with ordinary voters. Tad Devine, a Kerry consultant, said this format was one of the concessions the Democratic side made in exchange for Bush's side agreeing to three presidential debates.

Strategically, here's what to expect. Cheney will play the 9/11 card. According to a Republican strategist,

...the vice president will try to bring fresh attention to the themes "that shoot out of the 9/11 set of memories and issues -- preparedness, safety and homeland security."

Edwards, on the other hand, is expected to play up the Administration's failures.

If you've been putting off registering to vote, Monday is the deadline in many of the swing states...

Today is the deadline for registering new voters in Pennsylvania, as well as Ohio, Michigan, Florida and 12 other states.

Colorado is another state with a deadline Monday.

Don't know where to get the form or how to register? The form for all states is here. Now you have no excuse. Voting is a precious right in a democracy. Use it or lose it.

While live-blogging during the debate, I made the observation:

Bush is petulant. He's impatient. He interrupted once when he saw time was up and another time said "let me finish" when no one had interrupted him. Bush's mouth is dry, he's licking his lips. He's also too fidgety. [emphasis supplied.]

Others are now making the same observation, wondering if Bush had an earpiece in and was responding to Rove or whomever was instructing him. Listen to the mp3 yourself- or watch the video at c-span --fast forward to 40 min 30 sec.

The debate isn't the first time Bush watchers have asked the question. See also, here

Update: Digby has a picture up of the back of Bush's jacket during the debate, and notes some are saying it looks like a wire running up the back of his jacket.

Speculation is mounting about what Bush might have in store for his "October surprise." Aside from the predictable, like the capture of Osama or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, this one is Machiavellian to the core:

One "Hail Mary" pass could be for Vice President Dick Cheney to leave the ticket - perhaps to be replaced by a popular moderate such as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Republican strategists scoff at such talk. But if Bush starts to fall behind, he and his advisers might want to try harder to reach out to moderates who dislike Cheney intensely. Cheney, who has had four heart attacks, could cite health concerns.

Pure Karl Rove, no? Don't say we didn't warn you.

Bye-bye Bush bounce. Newsweek's post-debate poll shows a drop for Bush:

In the first national telephone poll using a fresh sample, NEWSWEEK found the race now statistically tied among all registered voters, 47 percent of whom say they would vote for Kerry and 45 percent for George W. Bush in a three-way race.

Take out Nader, and Kerry's ahead:

Removing Independent candidate Ralph Nader, who draws 2 percent of the vote, widens the Kerry-Edwards lead to three points with 49 percent of the vote versus the incumbent's 46 percent.

It's a bigger drop for Bush than you might think:

Four weeks ago the Republican ticket, coming out of a successful convention in New York, enjoyed an 11-point lead over Kerry-Edwards with Bush pulling 52 percent of the vote and the challenger just 41 percent.

I think Edwards will shine against Cheney Tuesday night. Especially if Cheney comes off arrogant or know-it-all-ish. There doesn't seem to be warm bone in his body...in contrast to John Edwards who makes you want to invite him in for dinner.

Ok, so it may be too early to write Bush/Cheney off, but that's the direction they are headed. Maybe they should have pulled their October surprise in September.

Memeorandum has a wrap-up of other bloggers' comments on the Newsweek poll. David Neiwert of Orcinus tracks the dirt the Repbugs have resorted to so far in the campaign and says we can expect it to get much worse.

Evidence 101:

"Objection, Your Honor, the question assumes a fact not in evidence."
Ruling: "Sustained."
Reason: The examiner should not ask questions in a manner that assumes disputed facts to be true.

Example of above: Newseek's new online poll asks,

Over his 19-year career in the U.S. Senate, John Kerry has changed his position on a number of issues. From what you know about Kerry, why do you think this is?

Inexcusable, really. Don't they have editors over there? Or just Republican campaign strategists?

The newest anti-Kerry ad by the RNC is available for viewing.

The Republican National Committee released today a video of statements made by Sen. John Kerry in last night's debate alongside the earlier statements they contradict.

Question: Does it violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the Memorandum of Understanding on Debates, (pdf) as agreed to by both campaigns. From Section 5e:

"Neither film footage nor video footage nor any audio excerpts from the debates may be used publicly by either candidate’s campaign through any means, including but not limited to, radio, television, internet, or videotapes, whether broadcast or distributed in any other manner."

In discussing the Democrat's release of the Faces of Frustration video, Taegan Goddard says:

I suppose the loophole here is that it's not technically Kerry's campaign releasing the ad, it's the DNC. But does the Bush campaign dare complain and bring more attention to the ad?

The Vote for Change Tour opened tonight with six simultaneous rock concerts in Philadelphia ..all fundraisers for Kerry. Bruce Springsteen opened one, saying:

"We're here tonight to fight for a government that is open, rational, forward-looking and humane, and we plan to rock the joint while doing so."

Hopefully, Atrios is in attendance and will provide an update.

The concerts are being performed in battleground states over the next ten days. Particpating groups include Springsteen, Dave Matthews, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt and John Mellencamp.

10 days, 11 states, 33 cities. The final show is October 11 in D.C. and will be broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Also appearing will be John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Keb Mo', Kenneth Edmonds and the hip-hop group Jurassic 5.

Here's the remaining lineup: All shows on the tour go to Ohio on Saturday, Michigan on Sunday and Florida on Friday; shows on Tuesday and Wednesday are in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Missouri.