Bored At the Office

Well today is the last day in the office for 2008. It has been a most peculiar year in that I couldn't find a spare moment the first half of the year and since September, I've had to search for things to do on occassion....and today...I've given up trying. I can pretty much tell you everything happening in the world today according to CNN, FoxNews, ABC, CBS, NBC, BBC and all of the local tv stations & newspapers. Ther is ALOT of information on the web in a single 8 hour day.



Here is to all of you out there and hoping you have a Happy New Year and a Productive 2009!!!

Channeling Britney! Shower Boy

Britney Spears: "Circus"



Britney liked it so much, she asked for a follow up to "Kill the Lights"


Find more videos like this on Britney Spears

More Spending on Sarah Palin's Wardrobe Revealed

More spending on Palin revealed

Posted: 06:39 PM ET

Spending on Palin's clothes, makeup and hair made headlines during the campaign.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican National Committee's total fashion bill for Sarah Palin's nine-week stint on the GOP presidential ticket is in: $180,000.

That's $30,000 more than the RNC previously disclosed it had spent outfitting and styling the Alaska governor and her family, according to Politico and the RNC's latest filings with the Federal Elections Commission.

The latest filing, which includes the final 3 weeks of the presidential race, shows the committee directed close to $55,000 to Palin's fashion stylist, New York-based Lisa Kline.

The RNC also spent close to $24,000 in several high end stores, including Ann Taylor, Bloomingdales, Brooks Brothers, Neiman's, Nordstrom, Macy's, Saks, Target, and Victoria's Secret.

The RNC has said all the clothes purchased will be donated to charity.

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign paid a total of $110,000 on Palin's traveling hair and makeup stylists, according to the New York Times and the McCain campaign's latest FEC filing.

News surfaced shortly before Election Day that Republicans had shelled out more than $150,00 on Palin and her family in clothing costs — a revelation that posed an unnecessary distraction for the struggling McCain campaign, and undercut Palin's hockey-mom credentials.

Durham Performing Arts Center Schedule of Events

DPAC CALENDAR OF EVENTS 

DECEMBER 2008

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
December 5 - 7, 2008

KENNY ROGERS Christmas and Hits
Thursday, December 11 at 7:30pm

THE INAUGURAL CELEBRATION OF DPAC
JOHN LEGEND
w/ Opening Act Raphael Sadiq
December 13, 2008 @ 8:00pm

HARRY CONNICK JR. "A HOLIDAY CELEBRATION" TOUR
Wednesday, December 17 at 7:30pm

JIM BRICKMAN and THE NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY
Thursday, December 18 at 8:00pm

DIVINE PERFORMING ARTS
Sunday, December 28 @ 7:00pm

JANUARY 2009

NBC's LAST COMIC STANDING! Live On Tour
Sunday, January 4 at 7:30pm

RENT
January 20 - 25, 2009

FEBRUARY 2009

CIRQUE DREAMS JUNGLE FANTASY
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

RICKEY SMILEY
Friday, February 13, 2009

AARON LEWIS OF STAIND
Wednesday, February 18, 2009

ANTHONY BOURDAIN
Thursday, February 19, 2009

THE TEMPTATIONS & THE FOUR TOPS
Thursday, February 26 at 7:30pm

MARCH 2009 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
March 6-8, 2009

ROBIN WILLIAMS' WEAPONS OF SELF-DESTRUCTION COMEDY TOUR
Friday, March 13, 2009

GEORGE LOPEZ
Saturday, March 14, 2009

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
March 17 - 22, 2009

70's SOUL JAM
Saturday, March 28 at 8:00pm

BILL COSBY
Sunday, March 29 at 5:00pm & 8:30pm
 

APRIL 2009 

JOHN PRINE
Saturday, April 4 @ 8:00pm

DAVID SEDARIS
Saturday, April 11 @ 8:00pm

LEGALLY BLONDE the Musical
April 14 - 19, 2009

MAY 2009

Oprah Winfrey's THE COLOR PURPLE
May 12 - 17, 2009

Prop 8: The Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

It's Finally Here! The DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The Durham Performing Arts Center is finally here! Last night was the first show, BB King, and tonight was the official ribbon cutting ceremony with assorted city & county officials as well as the building architect and builders.

The interior is beautiful with the curved seating areas and red carpet & seats.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

It Was Bound To Happen: Video from EQUUS

Find more videos like this on !! omg blog !!


It was bound to happen. Someone on the front row at EQUUS got video on their camera phone.
Thanks to OMG Blog

Bjorn Borgs Dating Website obviously doesn't have the same hang-ups as E Harmony

Obama's Pledge on LGBT Rights

President-elect Barack Obama has laid out his commitment to LGBT rights in an eight-point plan posted on his transition Web site. Although his regrettable (and unlawful) injection of religion into his campaign argument against same-sex marriage (can't we have ONE president who is familiar with the separation of church and state? Please?????) still leaves a very bad taste in my mouth (yet he wants to repeal DOMA!), the rest of the plan is indeed encouraging:

The Obama-Biden Plan

* Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. Barack Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.

* Fight Workplace Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

* Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

* Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: Barack Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

* Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

* Expand Adoption Rights: Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

* Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Obama will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. Obama also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. He will continue to speak out on this issue as president.

* Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Barack Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

It's SUNDAY again...and you know what that means...

True Blood @ 9pm on HBO

Brothers & Sisters @ 10pm on ABC

and other things recording on the DVR for Monday viewing.

Only 2 more episodes this season of True Blood, but it has been picked up for next year.

The McCain Mutiny

I wish Sarah Palin would fade away into (punchline-only) obscurity as much as the next guy. But with John McCain's through-with-her aides leaking all of these wonderful tidbits about everyone's favorite first runner-up, I don't see it happening anytime soon. Did she really not know which countries make up the NORTH AMERICAN Free Trade Agreement, or that Africa was a continent? (!!!) (God, this gift just keeps giving.) And don't believe for a minute that the $150,000 luxe shopping sprees weren't ENTIRELY her idea -- not that you did. And what did you think of her concession speech on Tuesday night? (Yeah, I know.)

Cute Political Blog Response

I was reading some of my favorite blogs this evening, checking on some of the senate races that

are still to close to call when I came across this comment:

McCain lost for 3 simple reasons

#1 He's a Republican

#2 Americans are afraid of PitBulls

#3 Americans feel that the plumber is always ripping them off

MR. PRESIDENT

New CNN Poll of Polls Results

The latest CNN Poll of Polls color coded map of the US.  I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope the polling results come true.

Tina Fey, John McCain on SNL

Can Tuesday get here quick enough?????

Although I watch the coverage on TV constantly.....read the newspaper daily.....surf the internet looking for polls, articles and any information I can find on who is and isn't going to win the Presidential election, various Senate races and the Governor's race here in NC, Even I am getting tired of it all and want Tuesday to get here and get it over with. And judging by the sign here, I'm not the only one!

Courting Condi

As disturbing as it is, I find myself tranfixed....maybe with horror!
Watch the trailer:

Lisa Kudrow's New Series: Web Therapy

If you love Lisa Kudrow as much as I do, and you haven't had the opportunity to check out her new series...shown on the web....."Web Therapy" is here:

MSNBC Live Election Results

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in Florida after 30 minute "Infomercial"

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are to share a stage in Kissimmee, FL later tonight after the Obama 30 minute infomercial. 

Here's how the networks are covering the "infomercial"

FoxNews.com

AP Wire

BBC World News America

CNN 

Barack Obama in Raleigh today!

I am SO distracted

Y'all... I am so distracted. And exhausted. This Presidential race is eating me alive. I spend half the day bouncing from political blog to political blog... then I get home at night and chain myself to MSNBC for Olbermann and then CNN at 10pm for a little AC360.... then while I am  asleep I dream in pie charts and line graphs and of little floating Floridas, Ohios and North Carolinas, alternating between red and blue and a deep dark coagulated purple... I wake up and the first thing I do is run to the tv for the latest polls and then to my laptop for my Daily Polls email and then onto CNN.com to see if a pie chart or the color of a state has changed... Arghhhh.

May we all survive this week intact, and may Tuesday November 4th be a night of celebration.

Are you a reader? Order a Kindle

Are you a reader? Do you read more than 4 books a year? Then this could be a great money saving, space saving device for you.
A KINDLE

Electronic reading device from Amazon.com

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Amazing Grace

Il Divo

Amazing Grace

Three Hot States to Watch on Election Night

Three hot states to watch on Election Night

By Nathan L. Gonzales and Stuart Rothenberg
The Rothenberg Political Report

 

(CNN) -- With the presidential campaign and more than 75 competitive races for the House and Senate, keeping track of it all on Election Day can be a bit overwhelming. But focusing on three states will provide a window through the November 4 election chaos.

No other state provides as much excitement up and down the ballot as North Carolina, where the polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Sen. Barack Obama is making a strong bid for the state's 15 electoral votes, with recent polls showing him in a dead heat with Arizona Sen. John McCain in the presidential race.

If Obama wins North Carolina, he's probably also won Virginia and is well on his way to the Oval Office. 

Down the ballot, Democratic state Sen. Kay Hagan has a narrow advantage over incumbent GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole. But Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, is neck and neck with Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, as he seeks to become the first Republican governor of the state in decades.

After a narrow win in 2006, GOP Rep. Robin Hayes is now the slight underdog against teacher Larry Kissell, a Democrat, in the 8th Congressional District. Hayes is the type of resilient incumbent who normally fends off challenges, but the anti-Republican wave might prove to be too much to overcome.

Obama and McCain are also battling for Ohio, where no fewer than four congressional seats are in play. Democrats are seeking to overcome their disappointing showing in 2006, when they picked up only a single GOP seat after targeting multiple districts. The polls in Ohio close at 7:30 p.m. ET as well.

Recent public polling shows Obama opening a narrow lead in Ohio, whose 20 electoral votes are a must-win for any GOP presidential nominee.  Watch the latest on battleground state polls »

Republicans are likely to lose two open congressional seats in the state (the 15th and 16th Districts), a microcosm of their problems with open seats nationwide. Cincinnati-area GOP Rep. Steve Chabot is extremely vulnerable in the 1st District, even though he's run a good campaign.

GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt is also vulnerable but represents the very Republican 2nd District and faces a weak opponent, even if she isn't particularly strong herself. Republicans missed an opportunity in the 18th District, lost in 2006 because of GOP Rep. Bob Ney's ethical problems, by failing to recruit a good candidate.

And it appears that Obama has a slight advantage in Florida (27 electoral votes), and up to a half-dozen congressional incumbents could lose. Polls in Florida close at 8 p.m. ET, still making it one of the earlier states.

Democratic voter registration has surged statewide, and Republican Reps. Tom Feeney (24th District) and Ric Keller (8th District) are underdogs for re-election.

Brothers/Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (21st District) and Mario Diaz-Balart (25th District) are locked in tight re-election battles.

There are, however, two bright spots for Republicans in the Sunshine State.

Republicans are likely to take back the 16th District after Democratic Rep. Tim Mahoney admitted multiple affairs. And Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican, is favored to win a second term in the 13th District.

 

Epidemic in America

Palin's Off-Script comments irk McCain Aides

Palin's off-script comments irk McCain aides

(CNN) -- Some aides to Sen. John McCain say they weren't happy that running mate Sarah Palin went off script Sunday and turned attention back to the controversy over her wardrobe.

The Alaska governor on Sunday brought up the recent reports regarding the Republican National Committee's $150,000 spending spree on clothing and accessories for the Palin family.

Palin denounced talks of her wardrobe as "ridiculous" and declared emphatically: "Those clothes, they are not my property."

"Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else that the RNC purchased, I'm not taking them with me," she said at a rally in Tampa, Florida.

A senior McCain adviser told CNN that those comments "were not the remarks we sent to her plane." Palin did not discuss the wardrobe story at her rally in Kissimmee, Florida, later in the day.

A Palin aide, however, told CNN that the governor clearly felt like she had to say something to defend herself, because "that's really not who she is."

Over the weekend, sources told CNN that long-brewing tensions between Palin and key aides to McCain were on the rise.

Several McCain advisers suggested that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to "bust free" of what she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out.

McCain sources say Palin has gone off-message several times, and they privately wonder whether the incidents were deliberate. They cited an instance in which she labeled robocalls -- recorded messages often used to attack a candidate's opponent -- "irritating" even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling reporters she disagreed with the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan.

A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," this McCain adviser said. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom." 

A Palin associate defended her, saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions.

But this Palin source acknowledged that Palin is trying to take more control of her message, pointing to an impromptu news conference on a Colorado tarmac last week.

CNN contributor and Republican strategist Ed Rollins said Palin was "mishandled" during the earlier part of the campaign, and as a result, "she's become a target of a lot of ridicule."

But, he said, "She definitely is going to be the most popular Republican in this country when this thing is over."

The Politico reported Saturday on Palin's frustration, specifically with McCain advisers Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt. They helped decide to limit Palin's initial media contact to high-profile interviews with Charlie Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, which all McCain sources admit were highly damaging.

In response, Wallace e-mailed CNN the same quote she gave the Politico: "If people want to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the most honorable thing to do is to lie there."

But two sources, one Palin associate and one McCain adviser, defended the decision to keep her media interaction limited after she was picked, both saying flatly that she was not ready and that the missteps could have been a lot worse.

They insisted that she needed time to be briefed on national and international issues and on McCain's record.

"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."

Yet another senior McCain adviser lamented the public recriminations.

"This is what happens with a campaign that's behind; it brings out the worst in people, finger-pointing and scapegoating," this senior adviser said.

This adviser also decried the double standard, noting that Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, has gone off the reservation as well, most recently by telling donors at a fundraiser that America's enemies will try to "test" Obama.

Tensions like those within the McCain-Palin campaign are not unusual; vice presidential candidates also have a history of butting heads with the top of the ticket.

John Edwards and his inner circle repeatedly questioned Sen. John Kerry's strategy in 2004, and Kerry loyalists repeatedly aired in public their view that Edwards would not play the traditional attack dog role with relish because he wanted to protect his future political interests.

Even in a winning campaign like Bill Clinton's, some of Al Gore's aides in 1992 and again in 1996 questioned how Gore was being scheduled for campaign events.

Jack Kemp's aides distrusted the Bob Dole camp and vice versa, and Dan Quayle loyalists had a list of gripes remarkably similar to those now being aired by Palin aides. 

Men Charged with Plot to Kill Obama

Men charged with plotting to kill Obama

CNN) -- Federal prosecutors in Tennessee have charged two men with plotting a "killing spree" against African-Americans that would have been capped with an attempt to kill Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

The U.S. attorney's office in Jackson, Tennessee, said Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman, 18, were self-described white supremacists who met online through a mutual friend.

Both men have been charged with illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a federally licensed gun dealer and making threats against a presidential candidate.

Cowart and Schlesselman were arrested after an aborted robbery attempt last week, prosecutors said in a statement announcing the charges.

They made their initial appearances before a federal judge Monday and are scheduled for a bond hearing Thursday in Memphis.

True Blood: It was SOOOOO good tonite!

Tonight's episode was SOOOO good.  I can't believe how quick the hour went by.  I can't wait for next week.

Content of Character vs The Color of Skin

This is what is meant in the black community by the need to be better to be equal....

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? 
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class (894 of 899)? 

What if McCain were still married to the first woman to whom he said 'I do'? 
What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she was in a disfiguring car accident (and proposed to his current wife while still married to his first)?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who had been addicted to pain killers and acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? 
What if Cindy McCain was never addicted to anything and graduated from Harvard? 

What if Obama were a member of the Keating Five? 

What if the Obama family adopted a caucasian baby?

What if Obama introduced his vice-presidential nominee 'Joe-anne Biden' to the nation less than 2 months ago & what if this was Biden's educational background? 
-Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
-North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
-University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
-Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
-University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

What if this was McCain's vice-presidential nominee Palin's educational background?
-University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
-Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

What if Obama's vice-presidential nominee 'Joe-anne Biden' was a family values advocate but had a pregnant, unwed, 16 year old daughter?

What if Obama's vice-presidential nominee 'Joe-anne Biden' was found guilty of violating ethics laws and abuse of power as governor?

What if Obama had made all the verbal gaffs on the campaign trail?

If this scenario was reality, do you think Obama could be running at all? Of course not! He has to be almost perfect to even have a chance.

America has come a long way in race relations but still has a long way to go before a person is judged by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin.

Origianlly posted on Leeiscorrect.blogspot.com

McCain / Palin: If I Only Had A Brain

If I Only Had a Brain

John McCain

United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin

Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester

North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study

University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism

                           Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester

                            University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Barack Obama

Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in

International Relations.

Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden

University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.

Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

View full blog post click here

McCain Tries to Distance Himself from Bush.....

CNN) – Former President Clinton will campaign with Sen. Barack Obama for the first time Wednesday in Florida, according to Matt McKenna of the Clinton Foundation.
Sen. Hillary Clinton will not attend the event but recently campaigned with Obama in Florida, a battleground state that CNN considers a toss-up.
The Clintons also campaigned with Sen. Joe Biden and Biden's wife, Jill, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton have roots.
Obama met with Bill Clinton in September at Clinton's Harlem, New York, offices. Then, Clinton predicted that Obama would win in November "pretty handily."
The Illinois senator levied more criticism at opponent Sen. John McCain on Saturday, mocking the Arizona Republican by saying McCain is just "trying to break with his president over the last 10 days after having supported him for the last eight years."
"He denounced the president for letting things get completely out of hand; that's what he said," Obama told a crowd in Reno, Nevada. "In fact, John McCain is so opposed to George Bush's policies that he voted with him 90 percent of the time for the first eight years. That's right, he decided to really stick it to George Bush -- 10 percent of the time.
"So, let's be clear. John McCain attacking George Bush for his out-of-hand economic policy is like Dick Cheney attacking George Bush for his go-it-alone foreign policy. What Joe Biden says: It's like Tonto getting mad at the Lone Ranger."

It's not clear Obama's running mate ever said that publicly. Biden has, however, made similar references using Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Obama is spending the day in the west. In addition to Reno's event, he's holding a rally in Las Vegas and one in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Meanwhile Saturday, GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin said that electing Obama, combined with a Democratic majority in Congress, will lead to government helping to run families.

Palin told Iowans that under Obama's "big government agenda," their income, property and investments would be "shared with everybody else."

She labeled Obama's plan to provide tax credits to lower and middle-income wage-earners "the philosophy of government taking more, which is a misuse of the power to tax." 

"It leads to government moving into the role of taking care of you, and government and politicians, and kind of moving in as the other half of your family to make decisions for you," she said in Sioux City. Fact Check: Obama's tax plan

With audience members shouting "socialist!" throughout her speech, the Alaska governor said that time is running out for Americans to realize the danger of a having a Democrat in the White House.

At the beginning of her remarks, Palin referred to her much-discussed wardrobe, which has the been the subject of scrutiny since Politico reported that the Republican National Committee spent $150,000 on clothes for Palin and her family before the convention.

"Your state is filled with good, hard-working people all loving the outdoors," she said, "and it was nice and crisp getting off the airplane and coming into the -- it reminded me a lot of Alaska, so I put my warm jacket on, and it is my own jacket. It doesn't belong to anybody else."

McCain spoke in Albuquerque, saying Obama doesn't understand issues of the American West.

"I know them,' he said. "I know what the Southwest is, I know strength and the culture and our Hispanic culture and the strength of our great states."

Meanwhile, Obama unveiled a TV ad Saturday that puts a new spin on the question, are you better off today than you were four years ago?

The two-minute ad, "Defining Moment," will begin airing in key states Sunday, according to the Obama campaign.

"At this defining moment in our history, the question is not, 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' We all know the answer to that," Obama narrates.

"The real question is, 'Will our country be better off four years from now?' How will we lift our economy and restore America's place in the world?" Watch the full ad here

In order to "build the economy of the future," Obama says, the focus must be on "urgent national priorities: reducing the cost of health care ... breaking our dependence on foreign oil ... and making sure that every child gets the education they need to compete."

The ad comes just a day after McCain's campaign launched a TV ad attacking Obama's readiness to lead in an international crisis.

"Listen to Joe Biden," the ad's narrator states before playing a recording of Biden saying: "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama. ... We're going to have an international crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

"It doesn't have to happen; vote McCain," the narrator says.

Biden's comments have also become a fixture of both McCain and Palin's stump speeches as they look to stress what they call the Illinois senator's relative lack of foreign policy experience. The McCain campaign says the ad will run in key states.

At a rally in Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday, Biden discussed Obama's new ad and blasted the McCain campaign's tactics.

"You know how we're finishing out the campaign? Barack is going up, instead of anything negative, we're going up and laying out our plan to fix the economy. That's what we're running on," Biden said. "What is the McCain campaign continuing to do? They want to do anything but talk about the economy."