Obama dispatches big guns to Florida

The Atlantic reports, and Obama campaign officials confirm, that the campaign's top two field generals are in Florida, "a sign of its confidence that the state, with 27 electoral votes, is tilting toward the Democratic candidate."

Steve Hildebrand, the deputy campaign manager, will oversee operations from Miami, and Paul Tewes, the chief general election strategist, will help supervise the get-out-the-vote program from the campaign's state headquarters in Tampa.

Yesterday we wrote about the McCain campaign getting additional help from Michigan.

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Foot-in-mouth disease

TAMPA -- Jim Piccillo swears he was not a spy planted by the John McCain campaign to sabotage Barack Obama. Yes, he's a registered Republican, but all that phone banking and get-out-the-vote grunt work done on behalf of Mr. "Yes We Can" is for real.

So what made Piccillo, in front of thousands at the USF Sun Dome on Wednesday, introduce Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, as "John McCain"?

"A brain fart," he said.

"To be honest, I think it was just an everyman kind of moment," said the 34-year-old Land O'Lakes resident, who was watching a Rays playoff game at home Monday night when a party operative called and asked him to warm up the crowd for Biden. (see jump for the rest of the story)

 

Crist: 'Keep swinging' the blues away

Floridians are losing their homes and watching retirement funds vanish. Gov. Charlie Crist's advice: Keep swinging.

"It's just like I say about the Tampa Bay Rays. ... That's an important message to our Floridians. Stay in the game, stay at the plate, keep swinging, keep working hard, do the fundamentals. We’re going to get through this. I know it's challenging. But a great president once said, 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Those words are very important for us to remember today. Don't be fearful. Be confident. Be smart. But be confident. We're Floridians. We’ll be fine. We’ve just got to be smart."

Taking reporters' questions this morning, Crist sounded somewhat less bullish about the McCain campaign, which faces a do-or-die situation in Florida and has yielded ground to Democrat Barack Obama in polls.

Stalked by Obama volunteers

We keep hearing about all the energized volunteers. But here in Democratic-heavy Leon County, Buzz wonders if Obama volunteers have enough to do.

This Buzzer has been solicited four times over the past few weeks including: two phone calls on the work cell phone (robo-caller and phone banker); one solicitation to register to vote in the toy section of Target; one knock on the door from Obama supporter seeking Independent and No Party Affiliation voters.

Can you beat the toy section of Target? Share your solicitation stories.

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Biden denounces McCain-Palin's attacks

Joe Biden slammed Sarah Palin and John McCain for their attacks on Obama's character before a boisterous crowd at USF in Tampa.

"To have a vice presidential candidate raise the most outrageous inferences, the ones John McCain's campaign is condoning is simply wrong. ... This is beyond disappointing. This is wrong,'' said Biden making a Florida swing just on the heels of Sarah Palin's.

He called McCain "erratic" and noted that a new study shows that 100% of McCain's ads have been negative: "I guess when you vote with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, your best hope is to attack your opponent 100 percent of the time. ... You can't call yourself a maverick when all you've ever been is a sidekick." (Times photo | Michael C. Weimar)

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Dems for Amendment 2, lawyers against

Yesterday, the group pushing for the constitutional ban on gay marriage held a news conference in South Florida touting Democrats who support their efforts, like Chairman of the Democratic League of Miami Dade County Dr. Eladio Jose Armesto and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle.

They also sited another Democratic supporter, Brenda Lewis-Williams of Bay County in North Florida.

Today, the group opposing the ban on gay marriage released a list of of 154 lawyers who are concerned the ballot initiative's wording could start all sorts of legal trouble for those living together unmarried. That list included Peter Wallace of Pinellas County and Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte of Leon County.

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Tampa Bay Rays wound Obama

Joe Biden explained to the crowd at USF that part of the reason he's there instead of Barack Obama is the whooping Obama's beloved White Sox took from the Rays. "The man's hurting right now. That's the only reason he's not here right now."

At the debate last night, Biden said, John McCain came off "as an angry man lurching from one position to another."

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Groups challenge state elections law

A consortium of associations and libertarian groups filed a lawsuit today in federal district court in Tallahassee challenging a Florida law that requires those who campaign to register with the state as an electioneering communications organization. They say the law violates their free speech rights.

Those filing the lawsuit include: the Broward Coalition of Condominiums, Homeowners Associations and Community Organizations Inc.;Charlotte Greenbarg University of Florida College Libertarians; Neal Conner; National Taxpayers Union; National Taxpayers Union Foundation; and Duane Parde. They filed it against the Secretary of State and the Florida Elections Commission. Read the complaint here.

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Bidenpalooza

Who'da thunk that Joe Biden would generate big enthusiasm on a university campus. It's no Palin-sized crowd, but it looks like at least a couple thousand people lined up to see Biden at the USF Sun Dome. And among the crowd we hear lots of Palin-Biden comparisons and macabre talk of John McCain's mortality.

"He is so old, and has had cancer and he's picked this rookie who really could become president,'' said 20-year-old Monica Lynn.

"If we think we're in trouble now, we'd really be in trouble if she became president," said software developer Thakor Amin.

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What others are saying

Here's a sampling of what other writers are saying about the second presidential debate:

Dana Milbank, The Washington Post

John McCain needed a big night at Tuesday's second presidential debate to turn around a race that seems to be getting away from him. So he hit Barack Obama where it hurts: in the overhead projector.

McCain was asked about the global economic crisis. The Republican candidate answered by accusing Obama of voting for "$3-million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago."