For the first time in many months, The Number was back in the news today. That is because the U.S. military reached the sad milestone of 1,000 Americans killed in the useless war in Iraq. In the past two days, 14 of our soldiers have died. You didn't hear about The Number during the Republican National Convention - from Dick Cheney or George Bush, the two men who recklessly misled our nation into war. You heard about 9/11 and the so-called "war on terror." I've decided to carry The Number on this blog, along with another important number: the electoral standing based on current polls. You'll find them in the left-hand column, via two feeds that update automatically.