But still this doesn't mean any of you can vote for Nader...

There have been rumors lately that New Jersey, my beloved homestate might be in play in this election. The Garden State has traditionally been as Democratic-leaning as New York in many instances, and the numbers from certain polls showing only a 6 point gap between Kerry and Bush had me left me as angry and helpless as members of the Black Caucus. But just as the nation as a whole begins to wake from the nightmare of a Bush presidency, so too have the New Jersey pollsters.

A Newark Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll released Sunday shows Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry has the state effectively wrapped up, beating Bush by 20 points, complete with a whopping 25 point gender gap lead among women. And this is with the terror alert that used such specifics as "Newark," "Prudential," "4-5 years old," and "snowball's chance in Hell." Despite claims from The Man-Child Who Called Boogeyman, New Jersey is officially in the Blue-state column, where it rightfully belongs.

Some Republicans had been holding out slight hope for the Garden State, spurred on by an earlier Star-Ledger/Eagleton poll released from May that showed Kerry leading by just 6 points. That, along with New Jersey's proximity to New York City, had some Republicans hoping perhaps Bush had earned a permanent 9/11 bounce.

No such luck. Bush managed support from just 32 percent of New Jersey voters, compared to Kerry's 52. At the same time, Bush's "very unfavorable" rating went up statewide, from 31 percent in May, to 37 percent in August. Those are the Jerseyians I know and love.