Tom Daschle

One of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) top advisors suggests the Bluegrass State may be competitive:

And Obama is weighing broadening a map that already appears big and red into four more states. A top adviser, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, said Obama is considering expanding his active campaign back into North Dakota and Georgia, from which he’d shifted resources, and into the Appalachian heartland of West Virginia and Kentucky.

“Those states are much more in play than they were a week ago,” Daschle said. 

The latest Rasmussen poll from Sept. 30 showed U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) with a sizeable 52 to 42 percent lead.

The third day of the Democratic National Convention will be called to order at 5:00 PM EST on Wednesday, with a theme of "Securing America's Future."

The day will begin with the nominating process for President, including nominating speeches for U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), followed by a roll call vote.

The headline speaker will be vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).

Featured speakers will include President Bill Clinton (D), U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

The full schedule is below.

Former Bush administration deputy chief of Staff Karl Rove and Clinton administraiton press secretary Dee Dee Myers are stopping in Kentucky this the general election season, according to Pat Crowley of the Kentucky Enquirer.

Their intentions, however, are not explicitly tactical.

Rove and Myers will appear jointly as part of Northern Kentucky University's Alumni Lecture Series on October 9. They will discuss their jobs and the current political climate.

The event is open to the public, but tickets must be purchased from the University.

Last year's event at the Highland Heights campus featured former presidential candidate and analyst Pat Buchanan and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).