In every presidential election year, some swing states stay the same, but new ones seem to crop up, depending on how the whole electoral map plays out. Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida are always reliably in the mix. This year there are others, including New Mexico, Nevada and very possibly Virginia.

I love CNN's Campbell Brown. I think she is smart, agressive, not afraid to ask probing questions and I have followed her career for years. But I became even more enthralled with her when last night she basically tore a new one in the American public butt about racism.

Of all the differences between the two major party tickets for the US presidency, one of the most profound may be their disagreement on the limits on the authority that the Constitution grants to the Vice President. That difference emerged in bold relief during last week's vice-presidential debate when Gov. Sarah Palin said:

For some movies, there's no higher honor than earning an adult entertainment counterpart parody. Some of the greatest movies have been remade to star women with impossibly huge breasts, men with impossibly huge private parts, and lots of extras who are impossibly tuned in to the sexual needs of the main characters and who make impossibly bad puns. Its rare that this crosses into the real world, but apparently, Sarah Palin is about to earn adult entertainment's highest honor herself.

On Thursday night, millions of Americans tuned in to watch the first-ever vice presidential debate featuring a Republican woman discussing the most important issues of the day with her Democratic opponent.  It was a historic event, and as the Co-chair of the Republican National Committee and someone who champions the involvement of women in our party and our political system, I was extraordinarily proud of Gov.

There is just over a month to go until the presidential election, and across America, attention is now firmly fixed on the state of our economy. In key swing states, economic issues are now front and center. Many voters, including many women, who often take responsibility for managing their family finances, are wondering which candidate offers the best policies for their family, their town or city, and their state. But in my state, the way that each woman decides to vote could prove especially critical and indeed determinative.

 On a Listserv that I subscribe to a member discussed the lack of musical artists who were publicly discussing the upcoming election. A debate ensued about whether people were actually interested in what their favorite artist had to say. After all, does their opinion really matter?

CBS News anchor Katie Couric's interview with Gov. Sarah Palin is the best interview with the Republican vice-presidential nominee that has taken place so far: substantive, specific and with great follow-up questions.

Yesterday I met Mabel Yee, co-founder of Engage Her.  She spoke to the Last Friday Ladies Lunch organized by Sylvia Paull about her passion for getting women of color to vote.

Close your eyes. Relax. Take a deep breath in. Hold it. Now, let it out. Om. There, I just wanted to try to create a small moment of zen before I started talking about our economic mess. The one that has apparently caused my blood pressure to spike this week.

Before writing this, I first checked Blogher to make sure that none of my fellow CE happened upon this story and to my surprise I found a post that Nordette posted on a similar issue in Texas. Unfortunately, we might be seeing a trend of the re-emergence of government-sponsored sterilization for poor women and women of color. Now who said that Eugenics was a dirty word??

I know what you're thinking... why Maria do you keep beating us over the head with this race thing every week?  I hear you.  I'm just as tired writing about it as you are reading.  Unfortunately the hits just keep on coming.  They can't stop, won't stop.  So, if like me, you've been living in a web conference vacuum and didn't read much, allow me to catch you up on some of the week's discussions.