Smorgasbord

• Maureen Dowd thinks New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's praise of President Obama in the wake of this week's storm is carefully calculated to improve his (i.e., Christie's) Presidential chances. An interesting argument, but I don't see how it improves his chances in a Republican Party dominated by wackos.

• For example, Gail Collins writes this morning that "Mitt is bringing half the Republican Party to Ohio on Friday to kick off the new 'Romney-Ryan Real Recovery Road Rally.' Everybody’s coming — Ann, the sons, Paul Ryan, Paul Ryan’s wife who we have yet to actually meet, Rudy Giuliani, a couple of Olympic medalists and pretty much every Republican elected official except He Who Must Not Be Named in New Jersey."

• How calculated is Christie's chumminess with Obama? If he changes his tune before the election, and loudly proclaims that Obama has dropped the ball, he might recover his creds with the science deniers.

• Meanwhile, Jon Stewart has his own take on the issue. Not office-friendly.

• Collin Powell's endorsement of Obama is now a campaign ad.

• The "Emergency Committee for Israel," whose "board" consists of William Kristol, Gary Bauer, and a third person, is robocalling a "debate" between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  The Washington Post's Fact Checker says, "This is one of those days when we wish we were not limited to just Four Pinocchios." Personal opinion: the "Emergency Committee for Israel" is doing Israel no favors with this crap.

• George Will can be ignored again today. [No link given.]

• The Washington Post does have a good editorial on the Texas attorney general's threats to arrest members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who want to observe the electoral process in that state. Texas continues to embarrass.

• A Republican ad playing in Florida, in Spanish, links Obama with Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and – steel yourself – Che Guevara, who died when Obama was 5 years old.

• While Bill Clinton is doing surrogate work for Obama in the swing states, George W. Bush is in the Cayman Islands, "delivering the keynote address at the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit." I am not making this up.

• Chuck Hagel, former Republican senator from Nebraska, has endorsed Bob Kerrey, former Democratic senator from Nebraska, in Kerrey's bid to be returned to the Senate. This follows endorsements by former Republican Senators Alan Simpson and Warren Rudman.

• How does Obama's handling of the economy compare to Herbert Hoover's? Pretty darn well.

• And I know you were wondering, "How does Obama's handling of devastating storms compare to Grover Cleveland's?" Turns out the answer is, "Pretty darn well".