Word on the street is that the Obama campaign is already on it - pushing voter registration and get out the voter initiatives as a means to counteract the inability of our electoral system to be able to handle margins of victory so small and margins of error so big.

If Puryear goes down, it would mark a painfully embarrassing defeat for Sen. Lamar Alexander, who backed Puryear despite a thin legal career honed largely in a corporate boardroom in Burton Hills. While many staples of the local bar insist that Puryear would make a skillful judge and laud his legal mind, other attorneys, including some Republicans, snicker that his dearth of courtroom experience would make it difficult for him to try the many complicated criminal and civil cases that come before a federal judge. Don't forget, too, the series of controversies in Puryear's professional and personal life, from his company's handling of an an inmate's brutal death to his membership in the intentionally exclusive Belle Meade Country Club.

Webb's vocal support for the confederate soldiers may not be a positive quality in my book - in fact it is probably detracts from my support of his vice-presidential candidacy - but quite frankly I didn't support Webb because I found an ideological kinship with him; I support him because I think he'll help Obama win. My dream ticket would be Obama/Feingold, but I know that isn't going to happen, and I'm realistic. Obama could pick David Duke or Geraldine Ferraro to be his VP, and I'd still support him vociferously...to me, his VP pick only matters so far as it helps him get elected.

So The Ticket called a bunch of people who know both McCain and Clinton. It's true, they confirmed, there is a special friendship between them. And it apparently started in January of 2001, when Clinton became the first former first lady elected to public office and walked into the U.S. Senate. It has always been a gentlemen's club, if not always populated by gentlemen. And the warmth toward Clinton was missing. Until McCain walked up and heartily welcomed the newcomer and showed her around. "They really hit it off," said one friend. Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on an Arctic trip They shared many things including a candid tongue. Both also have at times been at odds with their own parties. They found they could work together across the aisle as committee members and enjoyed each other's company on factfinding trips around the world. In Estonia, according to one famous tale, Clinton challenged McCain to a vodka shot-drinking contest, which he readily accepted. Later, McCain remarked to friends "she was one of the guys," a high compliment among guys.