The election's over, right?

Picture copyright by Stephanie Yue.

Okay, it’s a little over two weeks to go before the election.

Things look pretty good for Barack Obama. He’s ahead in the polls.

John McCain has conceded one state (Michigan) before the election has even begun*.

Prominent Republicans like conservative media mogul Christopher Buckley and former secretary of state Colin Powell have publicly endorsed Barack Obama.

It looks like our candidate is a shoo-in and we can all just sit back and watch Senator Obama coast to victory. Right?

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

Don’t slack off. It ain’t over till it’s over. And it’s not over yet.

If you’re going door-to-door, canvassing by phone or soliciting donations, keep on doing it. Do it as much as time will permit.

If you have a good car, please consider giving voters who cannot drive rides to the polls. Check with your local Democratic headquarters, or with independent organizations like Citizen Action about doing that.

If you have the money, please consider donating to Moveon.org’s No Stolen Elections Fund. They plan to publicly expose and legally challenge any and all attempts by the Republican party to prevent people from voting (which they, or sympathetic organizations appear to be doing, even as I write this). There's an excellent web site called http://www.stealbackyourvote.org/ which tells you more about voter-suppression and what you can do about it.

If you value your country, if you value your rights, if you value your money, keep on working.

And don’t stop until Mr.Obama becomes America’s first African-American president.

* - In some states, you can vote early by absentee ballot. I would strongly encourage you to do so if you can. Check with your local Board Of Elections, in person if you can. And whatever you do, DON’T mail in your ballot. There’s just too much likelihood of your ballot getting “lost” in the mail, if you know what I mean. Instead, deliver it in person to your local Board Of Elections. If you absolutely, positively can’t get to your Board Of Elections, mail it in certified, return receipt requested.

THIS JUST IN:

Moveon.org just sent the following message to everyone on their mailing list (including yours truly). I am including it here because I agree with their thinking points (hyperlinks added by me):

Dear MoveOn member,

If you're an Obama supporter, watching the polls or reading the news can feel pretty good right now. And we should feel good—progressives have worked hard to get this far!

But we can't listen to the pundits who say it's over. Can you share these "Top 5 reasons Obama supporters shouldn't rest easy" with your blog readers—and encourage them to volunteer for Obama between now and Election Day?

TOP 5 REASONS OBAMA SUPPORTERS SHOULDN'T REST EASY

1. The polls may be wrong. This is an unprecedented election. No one knows how racism may affect what voters tell pollsters—or what they do in the voting booth. And the polls are narrowing anyway. In the last few days, John McCain has gained ground in most national polls, as his campaign has gone even more negative.

2. Dirty tricks. Republicans are already illegally purging voters from the rolls in some states. They're whipping up hysteria over ACORN to justify more challenges to new voters. Misleading flyers about the voting process have started appearing in black neighborhoods. And of course, many counties still use unsecure voting machines.

3. October surprise. In politics, 15 days is a long time. The next McCain smear could dominate the news for a week. There could be a crisis with Iran, or Bin Laden could release another tape, or worse.

4. Those who forget history... In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote after trailing by seven points in the final days of the race. In 1980, Reagan was eight points down in the polls in late October and came back to win. Races can shift—fast!

5. Landslide. Even with Barack Obama in the White House, passing universal health care and a new clean-energy policy is going to be hard. Insurance, drug and oil companies will fight us every step of the way. We need the kind of landslide that will give Barack a huge mandate.

If you agree that we shouldn't rest easy, please sign up to volunteer at your local Obama office by clicking here:

http://tinyurl.com/downtowire

(This is a condensed version of the URL sent to me by Moveon.org. It'll take you to their volunteer sign-up page.).

We're just two weeks away from turning the page on the Bush era—but we can't afford to take our eye off the prize. We've got to keep pushing until the very end.

= = = = = = = = = =

Thank you, Moveon.org. I couldn't have said it better!

THIS ALSO JUST IN:

Senator Obama is temporarily exiting the campaign trail to visit his seriously ailing grandmother in Hawaii this Thursday and Friday (October 24th and 25th). Watch Rachel Maddow's MSNBC video about the situation here.