In a week plus a few days is election day, probably the most important election ever, until the next one rolls around. Here is a little primer plus my thoughts.

The most important office open is the highest office of the land: the presidency. And with November 2 around the corner, George W. Bush and John Kerry are fighting neck-and-neck and the polls prove it. President Bush stands for the values of any red-blooded Republican which is to uphold conservative values while protecting the country. Yet surprisingly, it's that last part which is making him look weak.

The war in Iraq has suffered major missteps during its course. While the execution of the war was flawless, the military plan to reduce the number of troops and go with a technology-driven battle has left Iraq vulnerable to insurgents and terrorists, leading up to today's unstable landscape. Not all countries taken over can be changed as well as Afghanistan has, which had free elections earlier this month. Kerry, however, has not shown he will lead the country in a different path than Bush has. Kerry proposes a summit in order to attract nations cooperation even though countries such as France have expressed opposition to help in Iraq, even with a Kerry presidency. Otherwise, Kerry wants to stay the course until things are stable, which is what Bush wants to do.

If not for the war, the talk would turn to the economy. The budget deficit is at its highest ever while slow, but improving, job growth and rising oil prices stifle the economy's growth as a whole. Both candidates though turn a blind eye toward the deficit. Sure, they say they'll cut it in half in 5 years, but independent studies have shown their plans will only raise the deficit. Bush wants to make his tax cuts permanent (they are due to expire in 2011). Kerry wants middle class tax cuts and a vast health insurance plan to cover a majority of the uninsured, which studies have shown the cost to be at least $1 trillion. Yet the only plan he has offered to pay for these plans is to repeal the tax cuts for those making $200,000 or more, which for some reason, probably won't reap the $1 trillion to cover the cost, plus a little more to close the deficit.

What's left are the little issues that constitute each person's record. As President, Bush has driven a divided country to the right, with limitations on stem cell research, environmental decisions becoming largely pro-business, a proposal for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Like his foreign policy, domestic policy seems to rest on going at it alone and allowing Bush to make things right, which works when you're arguing to protect America but leaves a lot of angry people when it comes to the issues.

You don't hear much about Kerry's record. When you hear a stump speech from him, his loudest applause lines come from remarks that sharply criticize Bush. A study by factcheck.org (note: it's not .com) found that in the 20 years Kerry has been a Senator, he has written a total of 11 bills that were passed by the Senate. The votes he has made confound quite a few people, leaving him open to attacks calling him a flip-flopper, especially the popular one about the $87 million for troops in Iraq which he voted for before he voted against it (he wanted to fund the troops but didn't agree on how it would be funded).

Lately, both candidates have been using scare tactics to strike fear in the electorate with attacks that are largely false. Bush contends Kerry's health care plan is tantamount to a government takeover, which it is not. Kerry contends Bush wants to cut Social Security benefits by 30-45%, which he doesn't propose. Bush believes the country would be less safe in a Kerry presidency, which is something that can't be predicted. Kerry says he would lift Bush's ban on stem cell research even though in fact, Bush is the first president to federally fund stem cell research, though with limitations. Bush states Kerry has voted to raise taxes 98 times even though he hasn't. Kerry believes Bush will bring back the draft, even though Bush is strongly opposed to it. They are attacking each other for showing weakness in winning the war on terror even though both said essentially the same thing. It really has marred what was a purely competitive race.

In the end, the polls to me would seem to be right. A Bush supporter is unabashedly with the president. A Kerry supporter is more likely to vote against Bush rather than for Kerry. As a Republican, my vote lies with Bush. While giving Kerry a fair shake, I don't see anything over-riding to sway my vote. Sure, there were flaws about Iraq, both going in and now, but there is little difference between both plans. The economy is improving and Kerry proposes a litle too much spending than what I'd hope for. Lately, Kerry has proposed expanding stem cell research, which I'd support if not for the massive amount of funding that would be needed which could be spent on AIDS funding and other diseases and the limited success stem cell research has had.

I agree with Bush on the issues, but the severe path to the right he takes on them is too much for me. A constitutional amendment on banning gay marriage is too much when there is a Defense of Marriage Act already law. Tax cuts are good but they could be focused toward people like me instead of the rich. The judges he wants nominated, mostly conservative, need to be more open to the process instead of pushing them through confirmation, which will be key with Supreme Court openings on the horizon.

What else is there? There's the California Senate Race. The what? That's right. We're choosing a senator. The incumbent Barbara Boxer faces Bill Jones, the former Secretary of State. Boxer is generally considered one of the more liberal senators in the Senate, and in a state heavily Democratic, that's a good thing. Jones was the only Republican in any high state office in 2002, so that has to prove something in terms of bipartisanship. The disadvantage Jones has though is money, something he does not have compared to Boxer's fundraising. As a result, Jones has been unable to get his message out there. One-third of the electorate have no opinion of him. I have no opinion of him.

As for the propositions, you know if it's an important proposition if Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a jacket with the number on it. The first time, it was for his after-school programs. After that, the budget loans. And now, Arnold has a jacket saying No on 68 and 70. Right now, Indian tribes pay next to nothing to the state for their casinos. Arnold is trying to tap into that by negotiating contracts individually with each tribe. So, 68 and 70 were put on the ballot to put a share of each casino's profits into the state in exchange for more casinos. Arnold believes he can get more by himself and is thus voting no. The other major ones are 1A (limiting state control of local government funds), 60 and 62 (partisan vs. non-partisan elections), 71 (state funding of stem cell research in the amount of $3 billion), and 72 (employer-required health care).

So do your research and get out the vote.

Remember the Sharks earlier this year? Against Colorado in the 2nd round of the playoffs, the Sharks went up 3-0 on the Avs. After losing their next two games, people got worried. Could the Sharks actually blow it and let the Avs win? Luckily, the Sharks saved themselves the embarrassment and won Game 6. (Oh, don't I wish hockey was up and running.)

Such luck did not fall on the New York Yankees. Up 3-0 against the Boston Red Sox, things were looking up. They had just beaten the Red Sox by an obscene score of 19-8 in Game 3. Dreams of another World Series filled their minds. But don't tell that to the Sox. They kept their eyes on the prize, even knowing the odds were against them, even knowing the Curse of the Bambino still hung over them, even knowing the Evil Empire was at it again. And tonight, their dreams have come true. They have beaten the Yankees for the first time ever in the playoffs. And now, they have the chance to break the curse that has affected them since 1918.

But like the difficulty of beating the Yankees, beating the Astros or Cardinals won't be a walk in the park. While there was a part of me that wants to see the curse continue (without it, how will Boston fans continue to function?), it seems to me this might just be the Red Sox year.

John Kerry has been scaring young voters by saying if Bush is re-elected, the draft would be re-instated to relieve the troops in Iraq. Despite Bush's denials, voters seem to agree with Kerry.

Today, Bush tried to put it in his clearest terms that he won't, saying "the best way to avoid the draft is to void for me."

I think he should continue by saying, "I avoided the draft once before and with my help, I'll help you avoid it too."

I just realized this a couple of days ago, but my 500th post came and went. That Last Comic Standing post was the 500th post. So, now 2 1/2 years, 504 posts, and 170,000 words later, has this blog gotten any better? Probably not.

I will note that the Last Comic Standing finale will indeed be aired, but on Comedy Central tonite at 8.

I was at a wedding last night and one thought was absolutely reinforced yet again. At my wedding, no live band.

I was listening to a commercial while driving back. It was for people to try out a new program to kick their habit of smoking. There's even a guarantee too. If it doesn't work in a month, they will buy you two cartons of your favorite cigarettes. What??? If their true motive is to help them not smoke, why tempt them with more cigarettes? Why not just give them the money?

Reaction from the third and final presidential debate:

Exaggeration must be Bush's new word of the day.

I see they still want to smile awkwardly when they're not speaking.

The question was flu vaccines, right? Bush talked about it then made a right turn to litigation. Kerry ignored it completely, focusing on health care in general.

Why must these candidates continue to quote incorrect facts? Kerry quotes that 1.6 million jobs have been lost even though around 500,000 jobs lost. Kerry's tax hike for the rich will be balanced out by the middle class tax cut he wants leaving massive spending unaccounted for. Bush says Kerry has voted 98 times for tax hikes even though it's much less.

Bush isn't helping himself by labelling Kerry as a liberal. Labels really don't apply anymore.

Seems to me joking that it's not your fault when in fact it could be isn't prudent.

On C-SPAN, they show a continuous shot of both candidates. One hour in, Bush has taken a few sips of water. Kerry? None. That's amazing considering my mouth would probably be as dry as a desert.

No Child Left Behind refers to childhood education, doesn't it? What does that have to do with people getting minimum wage right now?

Bob Schieffer asked Kerry what he would do to protect Social Security and he responded, I already did. We gave Bush a $5.6 trillion surplus that would've protected the system. Yeah, that's fine. But we're in deficits now and your plan to take care of deficits falls well short according to many sources. Without deficit reduction, what's your plan?

Hey, this is a domestic policy debate, not foreign policy. Stop talking about Iraq and that annoying global test and backdoor draft.

Yeah, that Persian Gulf line was good, but it's two debates too late.

It sounds to me Kerry takes too much credit for what Clinton did.

It was another nice debate filled with policy differences and some welcome compliments in the end. Who won? I'd say it was a tie but the way the last two debates went, polls will probably say Kerry won as a result of his superior debate skills.

Team America: World Police
From the creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, comes a truly vile and offending puppet film with its target set at terrorists and Kim Jong-Il. Our group of heroes loses a man while saving Paris from a WMD, so for their next mission, Team America's leader, Spottswoode, recruits Gary, a Broadway actor, specifically for his acting skills to infiltrate a terrorist base. While the mission is a success, Gary feels guilty about the resulting retaliation and quits, leaving the door open for Kim Jong-Il to proceed with his plans for world chaos, using the Film Actors Guild (read the acronym) led by Alec Baldwin as his own puppet. In the end, it's up to Gary to save his friends and the world.

This film had a lot going for it. From the very outset, its targets were numerous and they were hit dead on, often to a very funny effect, from Team America's reckless disregard of famous landmarks to the creative wordplay. But somewhere along the way, probably after the graphic sex scene with two puppets, Stone and Parker lose their steam and the movie slows down considerably. It becomes increasingly obvious that the only laughs that linger are based on jokes that are derivatives of the ones we just saw a half hour earlier. So while you'll be delighted by the inspired songs and enjoy that no target goes ignored, by the end, you're just tired from it all. 2 stars

2nd Presidential Debate reaction:

Man, this debate is a laugh riot.

I think Bush has taken something out of the Kerry playbook. If you're not speaking, every 10 seconds or so, smile. Boy, does it look awkward. Bush is also starting to write things on his piece of paper. I wonder what they're writing.

Bush got really angry when Kerry said we were going in alone. Wouldn't even listen to Charlie Gibson. That temper is not gonna go over too well.

Kerry:"When was the first World Trade Center attack? 1993 or so? And the next one was 5...7 years later?" I think it was 8.

Why is it when they talk about tort reform, they must always mention the OB/GYN? Always prominently too.

It looks like Kerry got a kick out of Bush's reference to the National Journal naming Kerry the most liberal senator.

Yeah, that's right. Kerry just said Bush is scaring people and then he scares us even more.

I just don't buy the argument that 1% of America got $89 million of the tax cut. It may be true, but isn't that right? Say people got a 1% tax cut. If you pay $1 million in taxes, then you get $10,000 back. If you're only paying $1,000, you only get $10 back. Of course they wouldn't add up to $89 billion.

So Kerry says his programs don't cost $2.2 trillion like Bush claims. So what's the number?

Bush asked did he have any time left? Geez, he needs to read a traffic light. Is that too hard?

Sure, I don't understand the wisdom of Bush's economic policy but I don't understand Kerry's either. He wants all these programs and he wants to raise the taxes on the wealthy, plus he wants middle class tax cuts and manufacturing tax credits? Sounds like too much.

Maybe both candidates are going to factcheck.com instead of factcheck.org. Both Bush and Kerry are still quoting facts that have been refuted by the media.

Hmm, Bush and Kerry didn't pick a name for the Supreme Court even though the questioner asked. Of course, it's not the type of question anyone should be asking anyway.

Hey, the questioner asked about what wrong decisions you've made, not why such and such decision was right.

In the end, I didn't learn much more about the issues, but Bush presented himself much better this time around. Kerry's performance was aggressive as usual, but at times, repetitive. I could predict what he was going to say at one point. So while the debate I believe was a tie, Bush supporters have to be relieved about his performance, much more so than the last one.

Last Comic Standing was arguably one of the hottest shows during the summer. After a solid first season giving the world Dat Phan, the show exploded in its second season; so much so that NBC decided to bring back the casts of the first two seasons to battle it out. Just one problem: like the weather, this show cooled down considerably. Their acts got tired and nobody stuck around to watch. I was heartened to see Dave Mordal in the final 4, but I probably won't find out who wins. Why? NBC has ended the show prematurely. To find out the winner, NBC isn't devoting an entire show to it. Instead, they'll simply announce it in the middle of a Father of the Pride marathon. Yeah, like anyone watches that show.

I believe tonight you saw from Vice President Dick Cheney what President George W. Bush could not do in his first debate: stay calm and collected while staying on message. No doubt, Bush stayed on message in his debate, but he lost in style points with his constant slouching, his silly smirk, and his slight temper and ultimately lost the debate and his precious lead in the polls to John Kerry.

But not only did Cheney stay on message as well, he was calm in the face of an energetic John Edwards, who like a schoolyard bully, tried to pick a fight on numerous issues but was ultimately frustrated by his failure to break Cheney. Even still, Cheney started spewing facts back at him, which for some odd reason, sounded weird coming from a Bush-Cheney ticket. Frustration though came out constantly when Edwards would start making point after point and Cheney wouldn't say too much in response or he would begin by saying, where do I begin?

I found it a little disturbing that Edwards referred to himself as John Edwards at a couple of points in the debate. He got a little tongue-tied too but played on his strength well, which is his charisma and good looks to get people to listen to his message.

In the end, both did really well in articulating the positions set forth by their bosses, but Republicans will be relieved by the performance by their man that will keep them going in the near future, at least until Friday when President Bush must go back on stage for another debate.

Another funny comic from Tom the Dancing Bug.

Bay Area sports has been struck with a feeling of disbelief. All 4 sports have been utterly disappointing, making it hard to read the Sports section every day.

In baseball, Oakland and my team Baltimore have been traveling down different roads. Oakland was to be the class of baseball with 3 top pitchers and a capable offense. The O's have been struggling to stay afloat after many disappointing seasons. Yet today, these two roads converge. Oakland's streak of playoff appearances snapped today as the Angels eliminated the A's from playoff contention in what has to be the most traumatizing meltdown seen by the A's in recent history. Across the bay, San Francisco blew a 3-run lead in the 9th as it saw the Dodgers hit a walk-off grand slam and win the division. The Giants playoff hopes have not disappeared though, but it needs Houston to lose at least once or then it's over.

Moving to football, the 49ers are not the 49ers we know. They got shut out last week for the first time since 1977. They're starting the season 0-3. The Raiders have come out decently but question marks remain as they replace their starting quarterback with Kerry Collins.

In basketball, the Warriors are the Warriors. What do they and Stanfurd have in common? They'll both probably win 30 games tops. Of course, the Warriors play 82 games and Stanfurd only 35.

The HP Pavilion is silent as hockey continues its lockout of players. The Sharks should have been playing exhibition games by now with the season to have started October 14. But that's thrown out the window.

The only major team outperforming all others? The #10 California Golden Bears, now 3-0 with a win at Oregon State today, head down to L.A. next weekend for a matchup against USC with the winner most likely becoming the Pac-10's representative at the BCS bowls.