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Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 All those numbers, of course, do not account for the 22,597 absentee and early voters who are registered with neither major party. How those votes break down this year is anyone's guess. Biden spent the majority of his Oct. 31 speech lambasting GOP candidate Mitt Romney and Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, for their shifting stances on a number of issues in the campaign's final month. From the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to their budget and tax plans, Biden said, the Republicans have repeatedly shifted positions because "what they are for, the people don't like." "Look," he said. "Ryan got asked, as did Rom- ney earlier, 'Will you commit to leave [Afghan- istan] in 2014?' And they used the word that fits them more than any candidates I've ever heard. They said, 'It depends.' It depends." "With these guys, everything depends," he roared. "It depends on the audience you're talking to. It depends on what the polls say. It depends what state you're in." He heaped particular scorn on a Romney ad running in Ohio that suggests American car companies helped by a 2009 bailout are plan- ning to ship American jobs to China, a claim even a Chrysler executive called "a leap that Page 14 would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats." "Why would they do this?" Biden asked, speak- ing softly. "Why would they do this in the face of overwhelming facts? Well I'll tell you why. They're trying to scare the living devil out of a group of people who have been hurt so badly." Ohio car workers "are on the balls of their feet," Biden said. "They lost their homes. They lost everything. And now they're back on their feet, just tentatively, back on their feet. They got their jobs back. But they still feel the sting of what happened four years ago." The Romney ads now have folks worried about their jobs, Biden said. He called the move a "cynical, cynical thing to do." With just five days to go, it is an all-out sprint to capture Florida's invaluable 29 electoral votes, and both the Obama and Romney cam- paigns have packed Sunshine State calendars in the coming days. New York Times numbers guru Nate Silver gives Romney a half-point lead and 59 percent odds in his analysis, which just reinforces a cliché I am sure you are sick of hearing: Florida could easily go either way. Editor's note: Cooper Levey-Baker was an Obama for America field organizer in 2008. I am so incredibly pleased, with my beautiful smile and my comfortable and natural bite. - Barbara Lee For a complimentary consultation call 941.923.5406 | Christine Koval, D.M.D. | www.askdrkoval.com