Saturday afternoon, my Florida Gators take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a game that likely will determine the East representative in the SEC Championship Game. Win Saturday, Gators, and you enter the national championship conversation.

Yet as great as that would be, I’d gladly accept a Gators loss in exchange for a Barack Obama victory next Tuesday.

A good friend and I will be canvassing for Obama this weekend in the very red Roanoke, Virginia region. Life as a Democrat here can be disheartening. Last night, while driving through the countryside and mountains that I call home, I counted dozens of McCain/Palin signs in yards and on rear windows. You know how many Obama signs I saw? One.

This is an area Sarah Palin would call the “real America.” You know, folks who love guns, hate all taxes (even those that pay for their schools, roads, medical care, parks, bridges, etc.), and want to bomb the hell out of every last “towel-head” on the planet. Too many still believe Obama is Muslim. That he wants to take their guns away. That he will tax-and-spend the nation into oblivion. They refuse to listen to evidence of the contrary.

Which is why I fully expect my friend and I will not enjoy the response we get to our efforts.

Please don’t get me wrong — I love the people here. They are warm, friendly, hard-working and down-to-earth. I count many McCain supporters among my best friends. I just wish they’d open their minds a bit more.

So undaunted, we will push forward this weekend. Because while I have no expectation of Obama winning in southwest Virginia, I do think he can compete closely enough to impact the statewide results.

So Go Gators.

Go Barack.

Let’s get a two-fer to remember always!

The catalog of Bush’s funny faces is quite large — entire websites are devoted to them.

And McCain? The last debate is exhibit A, but that smile of his reminds me of Jack Nicholson’s Joker.

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to have a president who takes the job a bit more seriously and can hold up under the pressure better than these two.