What it is, ain’t exactly clear….. hey, baby, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.

There’s a massive last-minute shift in the electorate. Massive. What’s not clear is whether it is all in one direction or not. If it is all or mostly in one direction, it is in McCain’s direction. But it could be a shift in two directions: One, a bandwagon effect, leading some semi-McCain leaners to go to Obama; versus two, a “safety” effect, leading a whole bunch of undecideds and some semi-Obama leaners to move to McCain as the better known quantity in uncertain times.

But what’s clear to me is that there is an incredible amount of movement. And as all the “bad” news in t he past few days has been bad for Obama — bankrupting the coal industry, an illegal-immigrant aunt who isn’t being cared for, more information about Khalidi and vote fraud — I tend to think that even if there are countervailing movements in general, the movement in McCain’s direction will be stronger.

If McCain were smart, he would air a commercial throughout coal country playing the audio of Obama’s “bankrupt” statement. And if he were smart, he would air a commercial in Colorado only saying: “This is where I stand on two issues of crucial importance to Coloradans. First, I will promote offshore drilling and development of oil shale and oil sands; my opponent won’t. Second, I endorse Ward Connerly’s Colorado initiative to ban racial preferences.”

State-specific advertisements, in the final days, if they do not hurt in other states, are the way to go.

But back to my central point of this blog entry: Yogi was right: It ain’t over. Dick Motta was right: The fat lady hasn’t sung. And Yogi was right again: Good pitching always beats good hitting, and vice versa. (In electoral terms, in times of crisis, change always beats reassuring familiarity, and vice versa.) Step outside. Talk to your neighbors. Listen to the wind. Feel the movement. This race is wild.