Morning Buzz: Tea leaves, revisited

We told you Monday we'd be keeping our eye on a handful of questions this week. We have. Your answers:

Where will John McCain spend his money? Everywhere he can. McCain has decided to flood battlegrounds states with ads to match Barack Obama's this weekend. But doing so forces some difficult decisions. Because McCain has limited money on hand, the advertising buy means his campaign will cut back on its get-out-the-vote efforts, The Washington Post reports.

That means more staffers will have to pay their own way to travel to states for the 72-hour Republican GOTV surge, which pundits and party officials credit for helping George Bush get elected in 2000 and 2004. The RNC will help offset some cutbacks; expect McCain staffers to pony up, too, and pay their way. The advertising is that important.

Where will Barack Obama spend his weekend? Obama is scheduling like a confident candidate. Yes, he's spending a full Sunday in critical Ohio, plus at least one stop Monday in Virginia. But he also is appearing in Indiana and Missouri, indicating he may be thinking big victory.

Curiously, Obama is in Iowa today. At first glance, the choice seems to carry the kind of symbolism Obama likes - finishing up in the place that launched his campaign in the caucuses. But Sarah Palin also will hold an Iowa rally - on Monday. Are the campaigns seeing tighter numbers there than public polling suggests?

One very notable exception thus far to the weekend Obama schedule: Pennsylvania.

The McCain campaign will be emphasizing Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia this weekend, with Palin also stopping by Raleigh on Saturday.

A note: The News & Observer is reporting that, according to a local source, Obama may be visiting Charlotte on Monday. We're hearing similar murmurs, except that the visitor might be someone else in the campaign. No word from the Obama folks. (A late clue, buried in a New York Times story this morning on Obama: "On Monday, he is set to dash through Florida, North Carolina and back here to Virginia.")

Polls in four states: Virginia, Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Numbers in Ohio and Virginia have been similar lately - ranging from a 4-9 point Obama lead, with recent polls indicating a tightening race.

Colorado also has been showing a 4-9 point Obama lead, but late-in-the-week polls have been on the upper end of that range, suggesting a more comfortable election night there for the Democrat.

Pennsylvania - no one is quite sure. Most polls have shown a double-digit Obama lead throughout the week, but respected pollster Rasmussen released a poll Wednesday showing McCain narrowing the lead to seven points, and Mason-Dixon put the Obama lead at just four yesterday. McCain insiders are telling reporters that Pennsylvania is a single-digit race - likely closer to Rasmussen's margin than Mason-Dixon's at the moment.

If Colorado tilts toward Obama in four days, McCain will likely have to win the other three, along with states like Missouri, Indiana and, yes, North Carolina, that he expected all along.

We'll keep watching. Tell us what you think.

Your morning buzz:

The real potential winner on election day - lawyers, says the New York Times.

If Obama wins on Tuesday, he can credit his performance in the debates, the Washington Post's Robert Kaiser writes.

Politico answers the question so many political writers get: Why don't you write about (insert rumor here)?

In Missouri, it's busy, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.

Can early voting turn the Florida election? Time explores.