We wondered earlier whatever happened to Nancy Pelosi.  For a speaker-in-waiting, she’s awfully hard to find these days.

Well, SantorumBlog spotted her with Pennsylvania Senate candidate Bob Casey — in this photo from the Norristown Times Herald.

Now, if we could just find Norristown.

Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch poll showed bad news all around for Ohio Republicans.

But how about the hotly contested, controversial ballot initiatve on the minimum wage?

We’ll never know.  Here’s what the Dispatch wrote:

The Dispatch did not poll on state Issue 2, the proposed minimum-wage increase, because of its length.

Normally I’d insert a snide jokey insult here, but it’s too long.

The razor-thin Missouri Senate race between Sen. Jim Talent and Claire McCaskill just might be decided by Republican get out the vote efforts in the 7th Congressional District.  That’s the Republican-vote rich territory (Springfield, Joplin) which President Bush smoothly won in 2004 with 67% of the vote, but was nonetheless targeted by the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign as one of the most important districts in the country because of its potential to generate Republican votes.

The 7th district is no less important this election cycle — and probably is seeing even more action than last time.  President Bush has visited the district, represented by Majority Whip Roy Blunt, twice since Friday.

Extreme Mortman just got off the phone with Miles Ross, political director for Friends of Roy Blunt and the chairman of the 7th District Get Out The Vote Effort, who is leading the extensive coordinated GOTV efforts there.

Ross tells me: “This is a really great collaboration between the RNC, the Missouri Republican Party, and local people.  It’s a really great team.  … It’s a great fit this year.”

Here are the raw numbers on voter contact, according to Ross:

• 71,589 live, non-automated phone calls between Friday afternoon and the Sunday evening.
• Over 38,000 different homes hit, droppiing off literature for Talent, Blunt, and the Republican slate. 
• Over 2,500 volunteer shifts — and well over a thousand unique volunteers.

Miles Ross, who has been assigned by Roy Blunt to lead the effort, calls it ”far superior to what we did in 2004. … If you’re running statewide as a Republican you need the 7th district to produce Republican voters to win.  Without Congressman Blunt’s leadership and his organizstion, the state of Missouri would be a completely different place right now.”

The 7th district effort, of course, is one piece of the puzzle.  Statewide there have been over 310,000 contacts with Missourians — between doors and live dials.

We here at Extreme Mortman have been closely following the dead-heat Delaware Attorney General race, pitting Ferris Wharton against Beau Biden, Sen. Joe Biden’s son.

The Wilmington News Journal endorsed Wharton.  Impressive, but not nearly as powerful as the Biden name itself, right?

Well, guess who seems reluctant to help out help out the younger Biden.  The older Biden.

Congress Daily reports:

“While his father has been at some joint appearances, the elder Biden appears to be letting his son’s first bid for office rise or fall on its own.”

With all of his hefty political capital, Joe Biden can’t help out his own son?  So much for Biden family values.

Where in the world is Nancy Pelosi?  Perhaps she’s off writing jokes with John Kerry.

(graphic from thinkprogress)

The Virginia Senate race between George Allen and Jim Webb has been one of the most unpredictable matches in the country.

But here’s something that’s remained steady: Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell’s criticism of her paper’s coverage of the race as being unfair to Allen.
Here’s Howell October 1:

the (macaca) coverage went on for too long after he apologized

And here’s Howell today:

Allen supporters think he can’t catch a break; I sympathize. The macaca coverage went on too long, and a profile of Allen was relentlessly negative without balancing coverage of what made him a popular governor and senator.

Here’s the only 2006 election predictor you’ll need:

Sunday, October 2, 1994: Dallas Cowboys 34, Washington Redskins 7.

Sunday, Nov. 20, 1994: Dallas Cowboys 31, Washington Redskins 7.

That’s two blow-out wins for the Cowboys over the Redskins in 1994, the year the House changed parties.

So far in 2006, the Cowboys have already beat the Redskins once. Which surely means that if they do it again today, the House switches again.

And a footnote — Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler started that first 1994 Cowboys game and played in the second. Next Tuesday, Shuler just might become a North Carolina congressman — even if he did have 4-13 record as a Redskins starter.

We learn this from an NBC News press release:

On Tuesday, November 7, the network’s marathon, all-night Election Night coverage begins at 6:00 pm, ET, with Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann anchoring from MSNBC election headquarters.

Keith Olbermann anchoring? Certainly with Olbermann’s campaign-long bitter rampages against President Bush (a sample from this week: “Mr. Bush owes us an apology for this destructive and omnivorous presidency”) he’s earned the right to be a color commentator, an analyst, even a pundit. But to sit in the anchor chair and report the news — when throughout this election he’s become part of the news and a hero to the left and liberal bloggers and activists? It’s one of those moments when you have to say, “Good lord, what are they thinking?” Can the NBC network brass offer any assurance that any of its election night news will be straight-forward and unbiased when Olbermann is delivering it?

Olbermann anchoring the news for a critical, divise election — it’s a tough sell. I’ll tell you this, though: if NBC can make the case, surely they likewise have the skill to argue for Bill O’Reilly doing the same.

More coverage at Johnny Dollar’s Place,  Inside Cable News, The Cable Game — and, as always, great primary source research at Olbermann Watch.

A history-making Senate campaign in Maryland indeed.  Kevin Zeese sends this note to Ken Rudin’s “Political Junkie” column:

It’s a three-candidate race. I’m the third candidate, and I’ve been nominated by the Green, Libertarian and Populist Parties. This is the first time that even two of those parties nominated the same candidate anywhere in the U.S. A historic first.

Yes, a real Maryland three-way.  Not including Cindy Sheehan:

From a letter to the editor in a Montana newspaper:

I am a good friend of the now universally known lobbyist Jack Abramoff and worked with him on occasion in Washington.  I have seen some of the comments your Sen. Conrad Burns has offered about Mr. Abramoff and feel compelled to set the record straight so the people of Montana know the truth.  First, Mr. Abramoff always went out of his way to be accommodating and supportive of Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns gladly and readily welcomed Mr. Abramoff’s support in this regard. and it was clear he often encouraged it.  Mr. Burns’ staff — and perhaps Mr. Burns — were known to eat free sushi/meals often at Mr. Abramoff’s D.C. restaurant, Signatures, and the joke was if they didn’t, they would have starved to death…. Monty Warner, New York, N.Y.

Those fish must have had halos on them — Holy mackerel!  And at least the economics of the lobbying worked out — it’s what the experts call mackerel economics.

By the way, could the sushi letter get any better?  Why, yes.  The name of the Montana newspaper:  The Whitefish Pilot.

The letter should have come with a sturgeon general warning.