I love the smell of desperation in the morning...

It smells like...Victory.

In Pennsylvania yesterday, Rick Santorum accused his Cemocratic opponent, State Treasurer Bob Casey of using the pension fund for state employees to fund terrorism. "Bob Casey has invested Pennsylvania pension funds in companies with ties to terrorist-sponsoring states and states that engage in genocide," Santorum said. "Bob Casey is aiding and abetting terrorism and genocide."

Of course, true to form, Santorum did not cite specific examples but referred to a report by the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank that has pushed for divestment from companies doing business in terror-sponsoring nations.

Casey, like state treasurers throughout the land, both Republican and Democrat alike, has called on investment managers to assess whether any companies in their holdings have business in terrorist-sponsoring countries. The issue is facing Casey is not unique. It is taking place in every state.

Instead of making each state repeat the process with their limited resources, perhaps the feds could use their resources and compile a list of companies involved with terrorist nations.

But I guess that would just make too much sense.

Santorum says it is not the federal government's responsibility to release such a list.

Entering the home stretch

Coming 'round the bend, with just eight days to go, the Democrats are strong and the Republicans have fallen back, just hoping to stanch the bleeding. The House is gone and the Senate is in peril. The issues they have counted on for leverage with the electorate are no longer theirs at all, much less theirs alone. In every single category that prospective voters were polled on, Republicans trail Democrats in the public trust; save on the issue of terrorism, where the public has equal confidence in both parties.

Democrats need to be tough and vigilant. The Republicans are going negative out of desperation, and it is getting ugly. Remember, they are the party of Lee Atwater, and while I normally hate to speak ill of the dead...I'll just say Karma can be a bitch.

But as Colbert says, facts have a well-known liberal bias, and facts are ruling the day this election. Negativity seems to have a blowback effect that they didn't expect, and the national party has gone so far in a couple of races that they have actually damaged their candidates. Anyone else notice that those horrible Progress for America ads have gone the way of the Edsel? (And not a moment too soon.) Fearmongering isn't working? All I can say is "Finally!"

And it doesn't matter how they try to shift the focus away from Iraq, it remains the yellow elephant in the room.

Keep up the pressure, Democrats. Man phone banks, canvas, donate to campaigns, light candles...whatever you can do. There is too much at stake. Defeat is not an option.