Briefs from the Presidential Race, 10/20/08

McCain has (only) $47 million to spend.

Democrats have an early voting edge in Nevada.

Of the 25,000-plus who voted early, 15,644 were Democrats and 5,721 were Republicans, according to Clark County Election Department records. If that trends holds, this won't be a wave; it'll be a tsunami.

Jane Hamsher argues that McCain's scaremongering on Obama's unprecedented fundraising is misleading.

The American Prospect recommends Sheila Bair for Treasury Secretary.

Bair, 54, also has special appeal because even though she is by far the toughest and most public-minded regulator now on the scene, she happens to be a Republican. It would be an elegant touch for Obama to appoint a Treasury Secretary who is both Republican and female.

Obama makes a huge push in Florida to coincide with the start of early voting in the state.

Obama has no plans to return to the blue states before the elections, aside from a brief stop in Madison, WI. Instead he will be campaigning exclusively in battleground states won by Bush.

Obama leads McCain in newspaper endorsements by a better than 3:1 margin, where Kerry barely edged out Bush in 2004.