13 Days

We are only 13 days away from the election. I don't think I need add what election - you've all seen the ads, watched the debates.

New revelations continue to pop up - never a dull moment in politics. Today we were treated to the revelations that:

- Sarah Palin managed to get the state of Alaska to finance travel costs for her children on several different occasions. The kids often showed up at events where they were uninvited or, organizers have reported, they were contacted by Palin's staff and asked to somehow include the girls. Palin has charged the state around $21,000 in airfare, not including hotel rooms for her girls.

In one instance, she billed five nights in New York at $700-plus for an event that lasted five hours.

- In other news, our "ordinary hockey mom" does not dress like one - the RNC released today that they have spent around $150,000 to outfit Palin and her family for the last 55 days. When she spoke at the Republican National Convention, she was wearing a $2500 Valentino jacket.

I would argue here that she does need to dress the part - I don't want a potential vice president (cough, cough) to dress in get-up from Target. But wow - $150,000 is a lot. I'm thinking I could have looked just as good for somewhat less.

I continue to check the electoral maps every day. Polls still show Obama with a significant national lead; but more importantly, he is leading in key battleground states. McCain has to win all of these states in order to win the election - most experts agree this is highly unlikely, well-nigh impossible.

Keeping my fingers crossed.