Kerry, in a misguided attempt to connect with the voters, uses the phrase "heavens to Betsy." Within hours, InstaPoll results nationwide show his likeability rating dropping by as much as 65 points.

Tom DeLay, in the midst of ridiculing Kerry, alienates his entire staff (not to mention most of the Washington press corps):

"In a reference to one of the Clinton campaign's favorite sayings, he went on: 'Instead of, "It's the economy, stupid," we have, "When the going gets tough, blame the help," and that attitude has no place in public. I mean, if I blamed these knuckleheads' - and here, the majority leader gestured toward his own aides, arrayed nearby - 'behind me for every bump in the road around here, then I couldn't blame you guys.'"

Poll workers in Minnesota are told to be on the lookout for... well, hippies:

"Minnesota election workers have been briefed on potential signs of terrorist activity at polling places, including people with shaved heads or short hair and unusual herbal or flower smells."

Is Ken Jennings done? Internet rumors abound.

Teresa Heinz Kerry continues to prove her kind manner.

Teresa Heinz Kerry says "only an idiot" would fail to support her husband's health care plan.

But Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, told the (Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal that "of course, there are idiots."

Point of interest:

I've been wondering about this, so I put it together, just for interest's sake. At this point in the 2000 election...

	Bush	Gore
September 8, 2000	42.75	46.00
October 3, 2000	41.50	46.00
October 24, 2000	45.25	44.50
Actual election results	47.87	48.38

(Sources: Old polls are scarce, so I just dug up four for each one of the dates above. The polls cited were: ABC/WP, CBS/NYT, CNN/Gallup, FOX, Newsweek, and Zogby.)

Take that, Swifties!

Kerry must be feeling the "tough-guy" heat:

Asked about a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning, Kerry told the magazine: "If I saw somebody burning a flag, personally, I'd probably punch them out and stomp on them."

Whatever you say, Mr. Tyson.

This is pretty amusing: the top story on Keith Olbermann's The Countdown the other night was this. Which, as it turns out, is not actually news.

Mark Mellman explains the shortcomings of likely-voter models.

At long last, Kerry admits to the flip-flopitude (at least when it comes to food):

"Everybody told me, 'God, if you're coming to Canonsburg, you've got to find time to go to Toy's, and he'll take care of you,' Mr. Kerry said, dropping the name of a restaurant his motorcade had passed on the way in. 'I understand it's my kind of place, because you don't have to - you know, when they give you the menu, I'm always struggling: Ah, what do you want?

'He just gives you what he's got, right?' Mr. Kerry added, continuing steadily off a gangplank of his own making: 'And you don't have to worry, it's whatever he's cooked up that day. And I think that's the way it ought to work, for confused people like me who can't make up our minds.'"

Shades of Happy Gilmore at a Kerry rally in Cincinnati.

Followup: The Hapy Gilmorianess doesn't seem to be limited to Kerry rallies.