* Do ya think that this one might get under the manly man’s skin just a bit?

…academic research has picked up something that thousands of hours of campaign punditry has missed completely: Donald Trump talks like a woman. He might be preoccupied with grading women’s looks, penis size and “locker room talk,” but the way he speaks and the actual words he uses make for a distinctly feminine style. In fact, his speaking style is more feminine by far than any other candidate in the 2016 cycle, more feminine than any other presidential candidate since 2004.

* Libertarian Party VP Candidate Bill Weld issued a statement that sounds a lot like a concession and an endorsement of Clinton.

Gary [Johnson] and I will carry our message of fiscal responsibility, social inclusion, and smaller government through November 8, and I hope that this election cycle will secure for the Libertarian Party a permanent place in our national political dialogue…

This great nation has weathered policy differences throughout our history, and we will do so again. Not in my lifetime, though, has there been a candidate for President who actually makes me fear for the ultimate well-being of the country, a candidate who might in fact put at risk the solid foundation of America that allows us to endure even ill-advised policies and the normal ebb and flow of politics.

In the final days of this very close race, every citizen must be aware of the power and responsibility of each individual vote. This is not the time to cast a jocular or feel-good vote for a man whom you may have briefly found entertaining. Donald Trump should not, cannot, and must not be elected President of the United States.

* Ed Kilgore explains what may have motivated this statement from Weld.

In the RealClearPolitics polling averages, the Johnson-Weld ticket peaked at 9.2 percent on September 13. Now they are at 5.6 percent. Given the current trajectory, and the intensification of major-party campaigning, it appears likely Johnson will wind up with less than half of his peak support.

* Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the NRA, made a 6 minute video that basically reminds me of the time that Richard Nixon had to tell us all that he was not a crook. For LaPierre, the message is “I’m not crazy.” Media Matters did us the favor of deconstructing all the ways that he pretends that his dire warnings have been proven true. But for those of us who live in a reality-based world, he actually does sound kinda crazy. For example:

LaPierre said his prediction that Obama “would come for our guns and do everything in his power to sabotage the Second Amendment” “came true” following the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, when Obama “exploited a horrible tragedy to launch a blizzard of gun bans, magazine restrictions, and gun registration schemes against law abiding gun owners all across the country.” (Nothing proposed by Obama would have violated the Second Amendment as understood in the Antonin Scalia-authored Supreme Court decision District of Columbia v. Heller. The background check bill that was voted on in the Senate after the massacre specifically prohibited the creation of registries.)

* Here is some fascinating information from Nate Silver about the state of the presidential race.

* Brian Beutler writes, “Obama Was Right About Republican Extremism All Along.”

It is gratifying, in some ways, to watch Obama take this final victory lap. There can be no more fitting repudiation of the the massive resistance strategy Republicans deployed against him than to leave office a political giant, with high approval ratings, and a list of substantive achievements to rival the greatest presidents in U.S. history—while the opposing party’s nominee, the embodiment of the Republican id, loses ignominiously.

* This is the kind of thing that can get me all verklempt about this election.

* On the other end of the spectrum, this might be the greatest thing that has happened so far in this election cycle.

* You’re going to want to watch this video all the way to the end for the punch. It’s a great reminder of what is at stake in this election.

* Finally, I’ve been loving Samantha Bee a lot lately. But I have to say that this one had me jumping out of my seat for a standing O.

Nancy LeTourneau

Follow Nancy on Twitter @Smartypants60.