It's taken the Democrats two debates to clean up the mess that Barack Obama left in Denver two weeks ago, but whether it will be enough to stem the momentum that Mitt Romney has built since, remains in question.
Obama came through with a solid performance last night, showing he actually wants the job.
Meanwhile, there's a U.S. Senate debate in South Florida. Remember that race? For a battle that could affect the control of the Senate, it's been an extremely sleepy affair between Bill Nelson and Connie Mack, at least in person. Ads? Yeah, these guys have run a few thousand on your local airwaves, but tonight is the only time they'll duel against each other, and Mack needs a breakthrough.
Democrats nationally and in Florida have expressed concerns about voter suppression efforts, and they've been winning big court cases in Pennsylvania, Ohio and now in Florida, where a very limited attempt to take non-citizens off the rolls has been delayed until after the election.
Last week, The Tampa Tribune came out in support of Amendment 6, the anti-abortion measure. Yesterday, critics of the measure protested the Tribune in front of its offices. They maintain that the paper has a right to support whatever measures they want, but contend that the editorial wasn't accurate.
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2012.