Barrett calls in sick on the sick leave referendum. Mayor Tom Barrett opposes the referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot to require paid sick leave, saying it would make the city uncompetitive. It's a federal issue, he says.

As a good faith gesture to show he wants to make Milwaukee more competitive, Barrett agrees that he and other members of his administration will give up their 15 days of sick leave a year, so the money can go to keep libraries open and shelter the homeless.

Tim Sheehey of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Assn. of Commerce, a leading opponent of the paid sick leave idea, said he and the MMAC staff would quit taking any paid sick days, too.

What's that? Barrett and Sheehy didn't say that second part? What a surprise.

As Dominique Noth at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council said:

That's one of the ironies of this whole thing. It's too easy for those who have paid sick days to argue it's too costly to give it to those who don't, and it's silly to argue that our conscience should wait until the US Congress decides.

The McCain campaign was right. The NY Times is in the tank for Obama, at least on the editorial page: Their endorsement;

"... McCain has retreated farther and farther to the fringe of American politics, running a campaign on partisan division, class warfare and even hints of racism. His policies and world view are mired in the past. His choice of a running mate so evidently unfit for the office was a final act of opportunism and bad judgment that eclipsed the accomplishments of 25 years in Congress."

The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times all have endorsed Obama, too. It is the first time in the Trib's history it endorsed a Democrat.