Hello, South Dakota!

Spearfish, South Dakota

No fish here that I can find. Or spears. But we did find a clean hotel with a comfortable bed at a reasonable rate. AARP discount. I feel like an old fart.

Our traveling billboard

The last thing before leaving was to paint the sign on the back window.

On the freeway, all across red eastern Montana, red, red Wyoming and into red, red, red South Dakota, people saw our sign and waved madly. Some used all five fingers.

Twenty minutes ’til Biden-Palin. Catch you later. C’mon, Joe!

Tight As a Tic

Bozeman, Montana

Polls show it maddeningly close in Buckeye land, but none of them is fresher than seven days old. Rassmussen (9/23) has it McCain 47, Obama 46, Other, 3, Undecided, 3.

Insider Advantage (9/22) has it dead even, 46-46, with Other at 1 percent and Undecided at 7.

This is just me, but I think Thursday’s Biden-Palin debate could have a major effect on the numbers in this still unsettled race, in swing states like Ohio and nationally.

I tend to get superstitious about these things. And I can’t believe that Palin in debate will seem as shockingly … shallow as she was in the Katie Couric interviews. If true, it means she will beat expectations (now at approximately zero). In turn, that would give a boost to what Republicans manage with a straight face to call their “ticket.”

On the other hand, I’ve known Joe Biden as a friend for more than thirty years. When he is on top of his game, he’s as good a debater as there is. Be on top of your game, Joe.

God, we can’t wait to get out there to work off some of this nervous energy!

Our beloved dog Rascal, however, has chosen this moment to relapse on an intestinal illness we thought he’d licked a week ago. We’ll have to delay our departure by at least a day to take him to a specialist in Helena to pinpoint what’s going on. Can’t leave a sick dog with our daughter here in Bozeman. Aargh!