In a week in which Democrats and the national media are focused on the Convention and the surrounding protests/parties/circus, it's worth keeping one eye on what's happening on local television in the swing states.

The scandal this time is that there's no scandal. The leak John McCain should be addressing in New Orleans is the one at the 17th Street Canal Floodwall, the same one that was leaking before Katrina.

Obama's bounce in the polls this week is more than a mere candidate "surge." It's a repudiation of the nattering nabob media which imagined clumsy wording could send his campaign into a glorious tailspin.

A Penn. Poll suggests that only 50 percent of Clinton supporters now say they will vote for Obama in the general, versus 26 percent who say they'll vote for McCain. Among union households, that number dips as low as 32 percent.

The Bittergate story has prompted responses from many OffTheBus contributors. They've written on the story and its interpretations but also on the new experience of practicing citizen journalism.

Ronald Reagan took aim at so-called welfare queens as a way to make the wealthy more wealthy. He gutted social security and social programs. Variations of his bait and switch have been going on ever since.

There's no conspiracy behind Bittergate. The truth is even more unlikely: Fowler is that rare Barack Obama admirer who can admit he's not perfect. And, hey, that's the right kind of support.

Are we bitter in Povertyland, USA? Hell, yes. That's what the story was about. We've been hung out to dry so long, we feel like ragged, abandoned laundry. All those election year promises? Please.