Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more on the ruling on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

A recent poll shows that those who have a gay friend or relative are more likely to support gay marriage.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

The California Supreme Court's 6-1 ruling was 135 pages, but its key rationale that Prop 8 was a "permissible" amendment to California's constitution was summed up in a few lines.

The dissent, summed up in two paragraphs, joined same-sex marriage proponents in arguing that Prop 8 violates the "equal protection" clause of the California constitution and federal civil rights law.

Many believe that the ruling will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, or that there will be another voter referendum on it.

Here are key quotes from the ruling - and the dissent.

From the ruling by Chief Justice George:

In summary, we conclude that Proposition 8 constitutes a permissible constitutional amendment (rather than an impermissible constitutional revision), does not violate the separation of powers doctrine, and is not invalid under the “inalienable rights” theory proffered by the Attorney General. We further conclude that Proposition 8 does not apply retroactively and therefore that the marriages of same-sex couples performed prior to the effective date of Proposition 8 remain valid.

Having determined that none of the constitutional challenges to the adoption of Proposition 8 have merit, we observe that if there is to be a change to the state constitutional rule embodied in that measure, it must “find its expression at the ballot box.”

From the dissent by Justice Moreno:

Proposition 8 represents an unprecedented instance of a majority of voters altering the meaning of the equal protection clause by modifying the California Constitution to require deprivation of a fundamental right on the basis of a suspect classification. The majority’s holding is not just a defeat for same-sex couples, but for any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution.

This could not have been the intent of those who devised and enacted the initiative process. In my view, the aim of Proposition 8 and all similar initiative measures that seek to alter the California Constitution to deny a fundamental right to a group that has historically been subject to discrimination on the basis of a suspect classification, violates the essence of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and fundamentally alters its scope and meaning. Such a change cannot be accomplished through the initiative process by a simple amendment to our Constitution enacted by a bare majority of the voters; it must be accomplished, if at all, by a constitutional revision to modify the equal protection clause to protect some, rather than all, similarly situated persons. I would therefore hold that Proposition 8 is not a lawful amendment of the California Constitution.

Program Note: Tune in tonight to for full coverage of the day's events on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

Is Sen. Arlen Specter finding himself philosophically under the Democratic tent, or at least outside the GOP tent, as he says in his announcement today about his decision to switch parties? Or, after representing the people of Pennsylvania as a Republican senator for 29 years, is he sticking it to the GOP for allowing another tough primary challenge from within the party.. Or, as he trails in a primary race, is he trying to save his Senate career? Or all of that and more...

If Al Franken finally takes the Senate seat in Minnesota, free of court challenges, he and Specter could give the Democrats a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate. That would mark a major political shift for this country... and, perhaps, a 3a.m.-style wake-up call for the no-to-stimulus-leaning GOP.

Then there's that swine flu, now infecting at least 79 people in six countries, including five U.S. states. Different story, right? Yes, but there's a common thread.

The economic stimulus bill had included $780 to fund preparations to fund a pandemic, but moderate GOP senators, including Specter, criticized the provision, mainly saying it wouldn't be the job generator that the stimulus bill was designed to be.

Well, without a vaccine for this strain of flu, and questions about whether our stockpiles of Tamiflu could protect us in a real pandemic, the swine flu is a wake-up call - for all of us.

But will we wake up - and mobilize to take care of our domestic needs, or will we resort to political squabbling? Perhaps a clue: we're at war, but this ain't World War II.

Pop quiz: How many of America's bridges - federal engineers say 77 thousand of them are "structurally deficient" and need repair - have been fixed since the Minneapolis bridge collapsed nearly two years ago? Do you remember how the death of 13 people and injury of 140 more that day, and the horror of dozens of cars plunging into the Mississippi River, was termed a wake-up call to a different kind of homeland security threat?

Or how about this one: How many people were kidnapped in Phoenix last year? Yes, another sudden lane change. But again there's a connection.

The answer: 366 kidnappings in Phoenix in 2008, most allegedly linked to Mexican drug cartels. Do you think the fact that more than one person a day was kidnapped from Phoenix is a wake-up call about our drug problem - and the reach of Mexican cartels into our own country?

Turns out we've been getting a few 3 a.m. wake-up calls lately. How many times do you think we'll hit the great American snooze button?

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

Some political opponents have said President Obama looked weak, talking and smiling with Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chavez, and before that offering to talk with Cuba, Iran and Syria. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential presidential candidate in 2012, says former President Jimmy Carter sent similar signals, and antagonists to the US "got tougher (because) when they sense weakness, they all start pushing ahead."

David Axelrod, special advisor to the President, shot back that critics "misinterpreted what happened... the real message of what happened this past weekend with the Cuban regime's response to the president's decision on remittances, or the overtures from President Chavez, I think, what has happened is that anti-Americanism isn't cool anymore."

Is it weak or strong to say you'll talk with potential enemies, rather than ignore or try to punish them? In any case, President Obama seems to be saying, essentially - we're ready to talk, whether you are or not. Perhaps President Obama s calling some bluffs. At minimum, the President made clear over the weekend that he is seeking a global game changer.

Ashton Kutcher's Twitter feed has surpassed CNN's breaking-news feed in the race to 1 million followers.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

Which is bigger news: Kutcher beats CNN on Twitter, or President Obama goes to Mexico?

Ok, that sounds like a reductive and absurd question. But it's not, or not completely anyway, and here's why:

When a movie star and a news network persuade hundreds of thousands of people in less than a week to "follow" them on a hot, newish social networking site, as part of a charity competition – at the same time that the number of eyeballs on cable, network and print news outlets struggle even to hold steady despite millions of dollars in marketing – it says something.

Like what? Like a couple things:

Like a high-powered flashlight, it shows us very clearly where our society is – and is headed. It shows that young, mobile, digital people are THE driving force in business, technology, media and – as the election of President Obama and the size of the anti-tax tea parties on Wednesday showed – politics. No surprise, I know, but what a fast and glaring confirmation. We'd better pay attention.

Another thing: Kutcher's entertaining and bravado-fueled victory over @CNNbrk last night in signing up more than million Twitter "followers" – complete with low-grade, Youtube-distributed camera phone video of Kutcher ranting and goading Larry King while driving (so much for anti-cellphone driving laws) – also gets 11,000 mosquito nets to April 25th's 2nd annual World Malaria Day. Kutcher promised to send 10k mosquito nets if he won, and 1k if he lost. CNN promised the same.

That means thousands of real people will actually be better protected against a disease that infects and weakens more than 500 million people a year, and kills more than a million people. Despite all our advances in medicine, malaria still threatens 40% of the world's population, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Those are stunning numbers, aren't they?

And it if takes watching Ashton Kutcher threatening to "ding dong ditch the house of Ted Turner" - Ding dong ditch means ring the doorbell and run - and then seeing Larry King, over at the other end of the demographic and media spectrum, railing with equal braggadocio "We will bury you!" to make people aware of the astounding continued threat of malaria, well, I can take it.

Besides, it was pretty entertaining way to make a point, wasn't it?

The only thing I still wonder is whether Larry King knew he was using the same words that then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev used in a famous moment at the United Nations at which in 1956 he interrupted the British prime minister's speech by banging his shoe on the desk and then loudly warning the U.S. that "We will bury you!" Larry's vow turned out to be as futile and mistaken as Khrushchev's, though without quite the same stakes.

Larry says he tweets. I guess I'll just have to get back onto Twitter and ask him.

Barclay Palmer
AC360 Senior Producer

Are the tea party protests today grass roots or astroturf?

Who cares, right? In the Internet age, it seems, there hasn't been a lot of difference.

The more interesting question is - will conservatives organizing them succeed in using President Obama's tools against him? Will they turn out tens of thousands of supporters, and revitalize the movement?

Mr. Obama's campaign for the presidency mobilized voters via email, blogs, videos and no less than 15 social networking sites. Everyone seems to agree that gave him a leg up on Hillary Clinton and the GOP.

Now conservatives are trying some of the same techniques - blogs, videos, a website, not to mention conservative radio shows - and say they have organized more than 300 "tea party protests" across the country, demonstrating against taxes and regulation. "TEA" stands for "Taxed Enough Already.

What's your take - are conservatives succeeding with these digital campaign techniques, and shown they can rally a base frustrated by losses in the last election? And have they caught up to the do Democrats' lead in online recruiting?

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tells Anderson that electric trucks designed for container transport create more “green” jobs in his city and cut down on pollutants.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

Green trucks could help rescue the economy. That's what L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is telling us - and the Obama Administration.

Villaraigosa wants the government to give $6.8 billion in stimulus money directly to Los Angeles, where the unemployment rate has hit 12% - up from 8% just since October.

What would L.A. do with the money? For starters, it would buy some "green" trucks using alternative fuels, such as electricity and natural gas. The electric trucks are made right in Los Angeles by a company called Balqon. So buying more of them would make L.A run reduce pollution and create jobs at home.

The mayor showed us one of the trucks during an interview with Anderson. And he also showed us the Port of L.A. where some of those trucks would be used. The port handles 44% of all seaborne goods coming to the U.S., Villaraigosa told Anderson. It also generates more than 25% of carcinogens in the area. He wants to make the port greener - cleaner, more efficient, and more competitive with other ports around the world. And he says upgrading it would create a ripple effect of more money and jobs across the country.

Anderson walks through the Port of Los Angeles with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who says he needs federal stimulus money for “green” upgrades to make the port cleaner and more efficient.

Villaraigosa isn't just asking for stimulus money. He wants the government to change the way it gives out stimulus money.

He says some money should go directly to cities, because he fears that states would be too slow to dole it out, and that California would shift the money from job creation to deficit reduction. (Is he planning to run for governor?)

Villaraigosa is just one of thousands clamoring for cash. But he might have a leg up in getting heard. He's a darling of the Democrats, and an Obama ally.

See Anderson's interview with Villaraigosa on AC360 at 10PM Monday. It's the first of five days of special coverage as Anderson crosses the country, reporting from Los Angeles, New Orleans, Detroit, New York and Tampa to report on how Americans hit by the economic crisis are finding ways to pull through.

All Photos taken by Michael Cary, CNN Senior Producer, Western Region.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

The efforts by President Obama and Congress to rescue the economy have been book-ended by two major, heart-wrenching events that have the power to pull people together. And I'm not talking about House and Senate votes.

I'm talking about plane crashes. One of which, the "Miracle on the Hudson" on Jan. 16, wasn't actually a crash, but a "ditching," but only because of Sully's cool-headed landing skills.

I've covered a number of plane crashes, talked with family members of passengers who've died, and survived, and people in neighborhoods who might've been killed, but instead have been awed by the horror that fell near them. I've talked with pilots and investigators and seen a few things you don't really want to see.

And I've noticed one effect of a plane crash on many people is a pulling together. People often realize for a few hours, or days or years, what it's all about. People open up to others, they talk about their feelings, they think about what's really important to them. Some have told me they see things in a different way, with more heart, a deeper feel for pain and joy, or for other human beings.

Later, of course, they, and we, have to go back to our lives, families, work, and the grindstone. But for those who've been affected, plane crashes can give a sort of lasting broader awareness of ourselves and others, and even a greater sense of community. Sometimes.

Has that happened in this country today?

On Jan. 16, we were dazzled that all 155 people survived when Flight 1549 lost all power and landed safely in the Hudson River in a way that none of us have ever seen.

In a prophetic coincidence, most of them stood shin-deep on the plane's wings, making it look like they were standing on water.

And last night, in what should have been a routine landing, 50 people died when Flight 3407 crashed into a house, brought down, many suspect, by a build-up of ice. A man died in the house struck by the plane. Amazingly, a mother and child survived, though they were hospitalized.

Did you hear the interview with Chris Kausner, whose sister had been on the plane, and when he told his parents, he said, "I heard my mother make a sound that I have never heard before." "Right now," Kausner said, "I'm thinking the worst and I'm thinking about the fact that my mother has to fly home from Florida and thinking about what I'm going to tell my two sons. That's what I'm thinking."

So what are we thinking?

At his inauguration, President Obama called on Americans to pull together. "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," he said. "On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

Well, we have legislation to stimulate the economy, but only because one party has a majority. Despite calls for bipartisanship, neither side can agree. Even within the political parties, members don't agree.

So tonight, we'll report what we can on these two stories - the conflicting efforts to stimulate the economy, and what happened to the plane which - and the people who - crashed into a house outside Buffalo.

Have these two plane crashes, or this economic crisis, or this historic election helped us to begin to pull together? And if not, is there anything short of an even bigger disaster that could?

Or maybe we'll just keep playing out our Realpolitik.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

He courts Republicans, gives them their tax cuts, but they don't vote for his bill, and then they say his plan won't work. And Dems stuff gobs of non-job-creating pork into the bill, give him lip about what they think should be done - standing tall upon their roughly 22% approval rating in the face of the President's 68% approval rating last week.

W. didn't put up with this. It was my way or the highway. He didn't compromise on his bills, and his team told GOPers to get in line, or pay for it later.

So even as his stimulus bill winds its way thru the legislative digestive system, some are saying President Obama looks weak as he plays nice and gets back a bunch of 'tude.

But a few say that he's playing a longer game - fulfilling his promise to change the tone and be president of all the people –and that he's building political capital, while some of those pushing back now look like self-interested naysayers.

What's your take - is Obama hitting headwind, or sailing around it?

Barclay Palmer
AC360 Senior Producer

Here we have "No Drama Obama," elected by the biggest majority Dems have seen in oh-so-long, about to take office, focused on hitting the ground running with a bi-partisan plan to fix the worst economic crisis since the Depression.. So why have Congressional Democrats been giving him so much lip? And where's that famously bare-knuckled Rahm Emanuel– still warming up in the heavyweight changing room?

Take Durbin. Nice guy and all that. Against seating Roland Burris in the Senate, before he was for it, before he was against it, and now? Ready to seat him, saying "we want to be fair." One option might have been to avoid fanning the fire at the Burris side show - distracting the nation from the President-elect's efforts - and Durbin's other, perhaps more important job - of figuring out how to get the nation out of this mess? (Good job on camera, though!).

And then there's Diane Feinstein, against Panetta for CIA before she was for Panetta-for-CIA-Diane Feinstein. True, you weren't consulted like you should have been. One option might have been to take it up in private. Does taking a slight public make a public official seem a bigger force, or not? Any case, in turning around and saying she now supports Panetta because he will "speak truth to power,” makes one wonder what the fuss was about. But not for very long.

And then John Kerry and Tom Harkin, who unlike Obama ran unsuccessfully for president, and the not as well known Senators Ron Wyden and Kent Conrad publicly criticized the Obama team's proposal to include tax cuts in the stimulus plan.

Yes, there is often value in airing differences in public. That's democracy, right? Hey, next time you could go straight to the press conference and hold your next meeting in public. We'll even offer a CNN Town Hall forum.

But all the conflicting voices raise a couple questions. Are Congressional Democrats setting themselves up to look like obstructionists again? In focusing on their own immediate concerns, do they risk losing the bigger game? Do they think Bill Clinton's success in moving to the center and winning Republican votes offers a useful object lesson.

For that matter, do they think Obama's effort to present an at least somewhat bi-partisan solution to the economic crisis has value... enough value to compromise? Or maybe the bigger question is this: will the Dems in Congress focus on bigger, more difficult job of fixing the economic crisis, or on the easier, but potentially self-defeating, job of getting their opposing views heard as often as possible on TV?

Under Karl Rove, the GOP was famous for maintaining party discipline, staying on message, and winning with one voice. The Democrats, on the other hand, have been compared to the Tower of Babel.

Perhaps Clyburn offered the telling clue on Friday when he said, "Democrats are going to be Democrats. Don't you expect the Democrats to act like Republicans. We're creative thinkers. We don't believe in group think."

Fine. But can you imagine a quarterback saying that right before winning the Super Bowl?

Program Note: Join us tonight as Anderson reports LIVE from Israel. AC360° tonight at 10pm ET.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

For the candidate of change, they're all bringing some quick changes. They're all quickly changing Obama's new world order.

Is Israel getting what it wants from its attacks in Gaza...is Hamas getting what it wants? Is the best we can hope for another TEMPORARY end of violence? Egypt keeping its borders closed, preventing humanitarian aide from getting to suffering and dying "fellow Arabs?"

Obama plans a $300 billion tax cut...some say it's to appease critics on the right. Maybe...But Obama has shown a Bill Clinton-like move to the middle in many more ways than this one.

Roland Burris arrives in DC, saying he wants the Senate to abide by the law and seat him. No irony there.

Bill Richardson wanted to be president.. then vice president.. then secretary of state.. then commerce secretary. Now? Forget about it. Is it possible that neither he nor Obama's vetters didn't see this Grand Jury investigation looming? Never mind - Richardson says he has the best job in the world now anyway.

Finally, two months and a day after the election, Minnesota's election board says it will certify Al Franken as senator, with a margin of just 225 votes over in cumbent Norm Coleman. That's one 100th of a percent. How could two such completely different candidates run so closely...Is this not more evidence that we are two countries attached by just a few percentage points of swing voters?

And yes, John Travolta... why is his son's death awakening anger at the too-cool-for-school star... Given the ambiguity of Jett's condition, should it?

What's your take? Please join us for a special 2-hour edition of AC360 at 10pm tonight.

Barack Obama nominates Senator Hillary Clinton as US Secretary of State during a press conference on Monday. National security adviser nominee James Jones and United Nations ambassador nominee Susan Rice look on.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

Seems everyone is noting that Obama's national security picks are more hawkish than Obama himself. Liberal blogs are fired up, some worried that Obama will go back on his peace-seeking promises. But that seems to assume Obama is a dove...that his opposition to the Iraq War was ideologically driven.

Some excited centrists, however, believe it shows Obama is more pragmatic than ideological... that he opposed the Iraq war because he thought it bad for the country, and he'll decide when and even whether to get out of Iraq based on what's good for the country.. and that he's picking national security talent based on what's good for the country.

This is the man who promised to step UP the war against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, after all... which, these days, seems to mean inside Pakistan, too. Do you think he'll go there, as the Bush Administration has been?

Just as President Bush, after criticizing "nation-building" when he first ran for president, will Obama, the man who noted he was one of very few in the Senate who opposed the Iraq war, turn out to be a war president – of a different stripe?

What do you think...

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

The NPOP..known to CNNers as the national poll of polls..today shows Obama 5 points ahead of McCain, versus 7 points on Wednesday.. SO.. if he keeps losing 2 points a day, Obama loses.

But wait! Obama is pulling further ahead in some key Battleground State polls. And that's what matters, right? So that suggests he'll win - big time, if the numbers of people attending Obama rallies and tuning into his half hour commercial mean anything.

Maybe there really is a silent majority of Americans in the "red" states, planning as the McCain camp says, to vote for their man, without talking about it to all those pollsters.

Or maybe the polls are just clues, puzzles pieces, and we just don't know what the big picture really looks like. After all, the primary polls didn't match those vote totals.

So here we all are, like an audience sitting together in the theater at a suspenseful, even scary movie, trying to figure out how this twisted plot will end. We're all struggling to get a handle on what's really going on in this country. And despite watching it closely every day, we have no idea.

As in so many things, the more we know, the less we seem to know. Unless you know something I don't.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

This has NEVER happened before.. A major stock market slide within weeks of a US presidential election.  Even 1929's "Black Tuesday" happened between presidential elections.

We have watched an extraordinarily dramatic presidential race this year, with a woman – a former First Lady and now US senator – drawing 18 million votes in a primary, and a woman – a former beauty queen and mayor, now Alaska's governor – #2 on the GOP ticket.

Well, so what..

That's how some people feel today, along with raw fear as they see the stock market lose more than 5% today, on top of a roughly 25% loss since last October.

The candidates have already been talking economy, economy, economy. But the markets' continued fall around the world, despite the unprecedented US $700 billion bailout and supportive actions by other governments, is creating a sense of crisis that is overtaking basic campaign issues – and talk.

What will be the effect?

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, center, accompanied by House Minority Leader John Boehner, Rep. Eric Cantor, and Rep. Adam Putnam, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, after the House vote on the financial bailout package failed.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

The Senate plans to vote on bailout Plan B between 8:30pm and 9pm tonight. A strangely precise schedule for a legislature so confident but so wrong in predicting that it had a bailout package on Monday. Especially since it has a couple other thingy-dingy bills to pass first tonight. If the Senate can function like a Swiss watch today, why can't it every day?

Or can it?

And the House plans to vote on the Senate bill on Friday. That is, if leaders believe they have the votes to pass the bill. If they don't, one of our most esteemed planning managers said, with irony and pith worthy of Ben Franklin,"Times are fungible."

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

The stock market is rebounding, because big investors expect Congress will come back to DC Thursday and pass a bailout bill after all.

But that's what so many were expected over the weekend and right through Monday morning - even President Bush and Congressional leaders!

Monday was a slap-in-the-face reminder that even in the face of a global emergency, Congress just can't agree on most things, other than massive spending, and even then there are some hold-outs.

Or, you could say that this only proves that we really are a democracy - that bail-out opponents in Congress voted against it because they were hearing anger and opposition to it from thousands of their constituents.

But with the Dow's 778-point drop, members of Congress are hearing more calls from constituents saying, "Do something!"

So.. place your 401k bets! Will Congress get pass a bail-out bill? Should it? If so, what kind? If not, and if the goal is to keep cash and loans flowing to keep the economy going, why not?

Let us know! Thanks..

Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, addresses the crowd at a campaign stop in Washington, Pa. Saturday.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

Everyone’s talking about Sarah Palin, even some who say we shouldn’t be.

John McCain’s campaign has decried “smears.” Rudy Giuliani said a reporter should be “ashamed” for asking if Palin’s 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy would detract from the Republican Convention. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have said candidates’ children are off limits.

Ok, got it.

And yet, given that Jenna Bush’s wedding photos were viewed by millions around the world, and that culture wars have periodically engulfed this country for decades now, with arguments over what exactly constitutes "family values," should we be surprised that people – and the press – are asking about Sarah Palin’s life and decisions, and her daughter’s too?

More to the point – is it all bad? Come on, there's good in it, too.

Sarah Palin’s candidacy has sparked a passionate national dialogue about what’s the right balance of work and motherhood, or simply parenthood. Her story is making us think differently about old arguments over "family values," "personal responsibility," and "good judgment."

"It's the Mommy Wars: Special Campaign Edition," as Jodi Kantor and Rachel Swarns put it so memorably in today's New York Times, "But this time the battle lines are drawn inside out, with social conservatives, usually staunch advocates for stay-at-home motherhood, mostly defending her, while some others, including plenty of working mothers, worry that she is taking on too much."

Yes, these are hot button issues. And some people are understandably upset. But some of the dialogue about work/family balance, teen pregnancy, even the degree to which politicians' familiy lives should be a subject of public discussion, is important.

In the middle of a presidential campaign that will set the nation's direction for the next four years, these are good things for us to be thinking about, and talking about, in a new way.

What's your take?

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

It was an excellent and powerful speech, no question.

Barack Obama was compelling. He gave specifics on what he would do as president. He fired back at John McCain in a way that seemed gracious and fair, but firm.

So did he make a sale... what do you think?

It's a question for all the big Democrats who spoke at the convention this week. Great oration is one thing. Connecting with voters, convincing them on a gut level that you are their candidate, is another thing.

It seems so easy when it works, so natural - and that's one reason it does work: a great salesman makes a simple, personal connection.

But it's been so hard for so many politicians, especially the last several Democratic presidential candidates, all of whom, including Obama, have been cerebral and professors in one way or another.

Some professors are great salesmen, but most aren't. And that's shown in the past few presidential elections.

All the past unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidates who spoke at the convention this week - Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry spoke more powerfully than they generally did during their own campaigns. Remarkable, isn't it?

But we'll have to wait to see whether the polls indicate the Dems made the sale.

And speaking of sales, John McCain is expected to announce his choice for vice president today. There are unconfirmed reports that it's not Gov. Pawlenty of Minnesota, or former Mass. Gov Romney of Massachusetts, or former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge told a CNN crew as he left the house wearing a windbreaker that he's getting a coffee and a haircut. Not exactly the high tension you'd expect to see ahead of a tightly controled VP announcement. But maybe he's just one cool cat.

Another possibility, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is looking especially fascinating today as KTVA reports the governor, afgter weeks of denying that she or anyone in her office applied pressure to fire a particular state trooper, now admits that one of her staff made calls that might have been perceived as pressure. Too complicated to get into here, but we'll all hear a lot more about that if McCain chooses her.

And then there's the possibility Mccain will do what Obama was asked to do but didn't - choose a woman. eBay CEO Meg Whitman and McCain advisor and former (controversial) Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina have been cited as possibilities.

So who could it be and, more importantly, will that person help McCain make the sale?

We'll have all this, and one more grabber for you:

Anderson anchors the show from New Orleans tonight, as Gustav barrels toward the Louisiana coast, expected to reach Category 3 over the Gulf of Mexico - exactly three years after Hurricane Katrina struck. Is New Orleans ready? Can the Gulf coast handle another Cat 3?

We'll have the evidence at 10PM tonight. Thank you for joining us.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Monday. Sen. John McCain before his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Monday.

Barclay Palmer
AC360 Senior Producer

Tonight is Hillary's night–will it work? She'll try to galvanize her supporters to back Obama. Her historic drive for the nomination, and her 18 million votes will be acknowledged in a deal letting her be nominated, and then she herself might call for Obama's nomination by unprecedented acclamation.

Now THAT would be historic. Everyone happy now? Will Hillary supporters stop flirting with McCain, and back the big O?

Separate question-James Carville and others have argued the Dems at this convention are making the same mistake all over again–playing too nice, and not fighting the GOP hard enough.

Yes, Hillary will take'em on tonight, but it's easy to dump the bad cop role on her. You know from all the cops'n'robbers shows - If the good cop never gets tough, the bad guys run circles around him. Witness McCain's appearance on Leno, his newest 3a.m. ad, his expected mockery of Obama at the American Legion convention today.

Mccain is not playing the usual quiet role during an opponent's convention. While Dems understandably get misty over Kennedy and Michelle, McCain is in Obama's face, and tweaking his nose.

The bell has rung. McCain is coming out swinging. Will the Dems stop smiling at the crowd in time, and get fighting?

We'd love your thoughts...Thank you.

Barclay Palmer
AC360 Senior Producer

Good morning all!

In a moment that could shape history for decades to come…. Wait, pause button… True, if a butterfly flaps its wings in China, that could change history too, but this could have a much more direct impact… Will Barack Obama name his VP choice today?

That’s the expectation.

Obama has said he wants someone who can help him with the economy, someone “independent… not a yes person” … someone he “can spar with.”

That would be admirable, maybe even helpful.

Is it a real clue, or a red herring?

Any case, it’s hard to imagine a couple of those mentioned as short-listers fulfilling those qualifications. Evan Bayh?

Does it matter who’s chosen? Some say it doesn’t… that candidates win and lose on their own merits… that candidates have won—and lost—despite their VP candidates. Dan Quayle… Al Gore… did they make the difference? Ah, no.

Gore might help a lot this time, now that he’s achieved rock star status among liberals, winning an Oscar, rolling out a vision to save America - and the planet - from greenhouse gasses.

Gore has said he’s not interested. But as John King asked on our air last night, if Obama told him, “I need you, your country needs you, give me four years,” could Gore in good conscience really say no?

We might never find out. Or - Surprise! - we just might.

Thinking through the scenarios, the anticipation and the breaking news are always lots of fun.

And this time, it just might matter.

Barclay Palmer
AC360° Senior Producer

G’morning folks!!

Barack Obama’s lead in the national polls has slipped from 9% to 1% in CNN’s poll of polls. What's going on?

One Democratic insider calls it “the August curse.”

For several elections in a row, the Democratic presidential candidate has faded in the polls in late summer. Why? Well, they get wonky, they don’t make news, and they get pegged as “liberal elitists.”

Obama is the latest in a series of Democratic candidates who – rather than go in for the kill as Karl Rove has cleverly led Republicans to do – has tried to offer an uplifting vision. In doing so, they have failed to watch their flanks, and the GOP attacks coming from all sides. And they end up sounding more professors than commanders in chief.

There may be a good reason for that. Obama, Gore and Dukakis all have actually been professors, and MTV once made the professorial John Kerry a “surprise professor” for one of its “Stand-ins.”

And what do professors do? They lecture. They gently try to lead a group toward enlightenment. They don’t generally attack. And they don’t win elections.

So the Illinois senator who has tried to offer a positive vision and avoid “typical” negative campaigning has been sounding more like a professor we’ve already had for a couple semesters than the new visionary who excited millions of young voters during the primary race.

Now the campaign has learned from the drop in the polls – and criticism from supporters.

That’s why the Illinois senator is suddenly talking tougher on the stump, and running more aggressive ads in local markets.

But can Obama fight? He’s offered some pointed words, but will he let himself continue to be pegged as a liberal elitist? Can he go for the jugular, the way Swiftboaters did with Kerry, and the way mysterious Bush supporters did with McCain when they dropped false hints that he had fathered an illegitimate black child (she’s adopted)?

One of McCain’s big appeals is that he’s a fighter. He never gives up. With just $100,000 last summer, his campaign was given up for dead. But he didn’t give up. And voters liked the way he hung tough. That’s one reason he prevailed over smooth-talking Romney, and tough-talking Giuliani: he showed he really is tough.

But here’s the risk for McCain: can he show has a vision that resonates with voters, or is he just a fighter and critic?

And can McCain stay on message? The Arizona senator has been giving Obama fodder to turn the “elistist” image back on him, suggesting when Politico asked last night that he can’t remember how many homes he owns, and suggesting he thinks being rich starts when you have $5 million. Many Americans struggling with a struggling economy think the bar is far lower than that.

So here are key questions that we'll talk about on AC360 tonight, and that face each candidate: Can Obama fight? And can McCain stay focused?