WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama is further cutting back on his campaigning because of Hurricane Sandy, on Monday heading back to the White House after an event with former President Bill Clinton in Orlando, Fl. to deal with the storm. Obama and Clinton were supposed to stump in three battlegrounds on Monday: Florida, Virginia and Ohio. The northern Virginia event is scrubbed and Vice President Joe Biden will appear with Clinton in Youngstown, Ohio.

Statement by the Press Secretary on Additional Changes to the President's Travel on Monday

The President continues to be regularly updated on the storm. Today, he participated in an operations briefing at the National Response Coordination Center at FEMA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. During the briefing, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate updated the President on ongoing deployments of teams and resources by federal partners to support state and local responders in potentially affected areas. The President also received an update on the storm from National Hurricane Director Rick Knabb, and later spoke directly with Governors and Mayors from potentially impacted states to ensure there were no unmet needs. The President continues to receive regular updates on the storm, and continues to direct his team to make sure all available resources are brought to bear to support state and local partners.

(photo by Lynn Sweet)

WASHINGTON--Getting ready for Hurricane Sandy this afternoon. Broke the glass top of patio table moving it so it would not get blown. Moved planters. Flashlights by the door. Water bottles full. Wind up emergency flashlight and radio (see photo above) handy. Electronic gizmos charged. Taking in rocking chairs off the front porch. Cleared out front gutters.

Will sleep downstairs tonight, in case tree next door falls on the house. Happens all the time here.

WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama, knocked off the campaign trail by Hurricane Sandy promised local officials a "powerful response" and to "cut through red tape" to give them any assistance needed. He urged all to take the threat of the storm "seriously."

From the White House: While at FEMA the President participated in a briefing with federal partners including FEMA regional directors. In the briefing the President was joined by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Richard Reed. Other members of the FEMA leadership team were also part of the briefing. National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb joined by video conference.

WASHINGTON--Mayor Rahm Emanuel defended President Barack Obama on Libya and praised him as a decisive leader on Sunday, after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) again accused the President Barack Obama of either "massive cover-up or massive incompetence" over the Sept. 11 attacks where four Americans were killed.

Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff and McCain, who ran against Obama in 2008, were guests on CBS' "Face the Nation," where they represented the Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns. Emanuel did the interview from Akron, spending the weekend in battleground Ohio stumping for Obama.

McCain, who was interviewed first, turned to Obama's handling of Libya and the shifting explanations of the administration over what happened when the consulate in Bengahzi was attacked. "It is still the -- it is now the worst cover-up or incompetence that I have ever observed in my life," said McCain, who has made that point in previous public appearences.

He added, "I don't know if it's either cover-up or gross -- the worst kind of incompetence which doesn't allow -- it doesn't qualify the president as commander in chief."

Emanuel mounted a defense that echoed Obama administration explanations: "You have an event, a changing event. You don't have people on the ground, in a sense, for that information. The intelligence community, many different apparatuses from military intelligence, national security intelligence, CIA is assembling that information to give you the best picture, and events change," Emanuel said.

Moving on to Obama's foreign policy record, Emanuel said, "At every level of America's foreign policy abroad, in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Mideast is respected because they have seen this president take decisive leadership, take positions that he has executed from Iran to the protection of Israel to changing the war in Iraq and America's foreign policy to rebuilding us at home, reorienting America's resources to the threat coming or the challenge coming from China.

"That is a foreign policy that has made America continue to be the leader of the free world and with its values. And I would actually disagree with what the senator said. And if you look across the waterfront, America's leadership has never been stronger."

Kaye Wilson, Malia, President Obama, Sasha returning from church on Sunday, Oct 28, 2012
(White House photo by Pete Souza)

WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama, Malia and Sasha attended church Sunday morning along with Kaye Wilson, who the girls have known forever since she is their godmother from Chicago. First Lady Michelle Obama, who is flying to Chicago Sunday to get ahead of Hurricane Sandy--so she can make her Iowa Monday stop--was not with them because she was getting ready to leave early for her trip, the White House said.

They walked from the White House across Lafayette Park to St. John's Episcopal Church, about a block away.

The Obama family rarely attends public church services; they never picked one Washington church to attend. The White House reminded Sunday that while "they have visited St. John's on a number of occasions, and have also worshipped with many other D.C.-area churches, including 19th Street Baptist Church, the Washington National Cathedral, Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, Vermont Avenue Baptist Church, Metropolitan A.M.E. Church, and Evergreen Chapel at Camp David."

One of the last times the Obama family attended church was Aug. 19; see my post about that visit HERE.

Before that, the last time the Obama family attended church in Washington D.C. was last Easter; read my post HERE.

WASHINGTON--With Hurricane Sandy working its way up the east coast, President Barack Obama on Sunday is off the campaign trail and, after church, will visit the National Response Coordination Center at FEMA Headquarters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is coordinating the federal government response for the monster storm coming in the final week for the election.

From the pool report: "While at FEMA the President will participate in a briefing on the storm and be updated on the ongoing efforts to support local preparedness efforts in potentially affected areas."

WASHINGTON--Mitt Romney stumps in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis on Monday night, hitting battleground Wisconsin--and avoiding any problems from Hurricane Sandy. He will headline a rally at the Expo Center at the State Fair Park. Milwaukee's western suburbs are rich in GOP votes.

On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden was in Kenosha--stopping at a local landmark familiar to a lot of Chicagoans hitting the outlet malls on I-94 or heading home from Lake Geneva: Mars Cheese Castle. Biden was campaigning at the nearby University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

WASHINGTON--First Lady Michelle Obama--in a change of plans--will fly to Chicago on Sunday and spend the night in her home town in order, I am told, to get ahead of Hurricane Sandy and make her Monday campaign stops in battleground Iowa. President Barack Obama also scrambled his travel schedule and is leaving the White House Sunday night to stump in battleground Florida with Bill Clinton Monday there and in Ohio. Because of the storm, working its way up the east coast, Obama is canceling his northern Virginia stop with Clinton on Monday in order to return to the White House to monitor developments.

Mrs. Obama is also planning to spend Monday night in Chicago as her schedule is being revised because of the weather. No word yet if she is going to their South Side home.

WASHINGTON--Hurricane Sandy is disrupting the Obama and Romney campaigns' final week sprint, with events scrubbed and the storm impacting early voting in battleground states.

As the colossal storm works its way up the East Coast -- with predictions it could turn inland -- forecasters are issuing dire warnings of days-long power outages, flooding, strong winds, rain, snow and cold temperatures.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama, who stumped in battleground New Hampshire, was briefed on emergency preparations aboard Air Force One, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinated federal assistance to state and local first responders.

As the Eastern Seaboard is braced for the brunt of the storm, Obama is finding his last days of campaigning curtailed to deal with the potential disaster. A Hurricane Katrina-like disaster response -- which haunted former President George W. Bush -- could create an enormous problem for Obama just before the election.

On Saturday evening the White House announced Obama is canceling one of three events with former President Bill Clinton on Monday to return to the White House "to continue to monitor Hurricane Sandy," predicted to make landfall late Monday. Also, a visit to Colorado Springs on Tuesday has also been canceled -- with possible additional scrubs.

"The president will continue to receive regular briefings [on emergency preparations] and has made clear that he expects his team to continue to lean forward as Hurricane Sandy approaches," the White House said.

The battlegrounds most potentially impacted are Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, with the storm possible blowing as far west as parts of Ohio. Extended power outages could curtail early voting place operations.

With Romney and Obama focused on winning the battleground electoral votes, RealClearPolitics estimates Obama still has a slight Electoral College edge, 201 to 191, with 146 electoral votes up for grabs; 270 are needed.

The rundown:

† Romney canceled his Sunday Virginia stops and instead will join running mate Paul Ryan on a bus tour of battleground Ohio.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Friday declared a state of emergency, which influenced Romney's decision to scratch his visit. Campaigning in Kissimmee, Fla., Romney said Saturday, "I was looking forward to being in Virginia tomorrow, but you know the hurricane is headed up there."

Early voting started in battleground Florida on Saturday.

† Biden's Saturday visit to Virginia Beach -- to stump with his wife, Jill, and son Beau Biden, the Delaware attorney general -- was canceled "out of an abundance of caution" so to "all local law enforcement and emergency management resources can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm."

† Obama's Monday appearance with Clinton in Prince William County, Va., is the one shelved. Obama and Clinton are still booked for Orlando, Fla., and Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday.

† Sandy could head as far north as Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where a rally headlined by first lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday at the University of New Hampshire has been canceled. A Boston swing is also canceled.

WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Sandy is disrupting the Obama and Romney campaigns' sprint to the finish as the storm works its way up the East Coast, with events in battleground Virginia already canceled.

With Sandy's main hit expected Monday, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also have to weigh what voters will think if they are on the stump -- and not in the White House.

The storm could have an impact further west -- in another key battleground state, Ohio. High winds have already been blowing through battleground Florida -- where early voting starts on Saturday.

Virginia is in line for a beating. Gov. Bob McDonnell on Friday declared a state of emergency with flooding and widespread power outrages expected starting late Saturday or early Sunday, especially in the eastern part of the state.

With the action in the battlegrounds, Romney is up in Virginia by 1.2 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average.

As RCP is calling it, Obama still has a slight Electoral College edge, 201 to 191 for Romney, with 146 electoral votes up for grabs; 270 are needed to clinch.

The rundown:

† On Friday, Obama was briefed by Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Craig Fugate, Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan and National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb on preparations for Sandy. A Katrina-like disaster response could create an enormous problem for Obama just before the election.

† Biden's Saturday visit to Virginia Beach -- to stump with his wife, Jill, and son Beau Biden, the Delaware attorney general -- has been canceled "out of an abundance of caution" so "all local law enforcement and emergency management resources can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm."

† Romney's Sunday stops in Virginia may not take place because of the storm.

† At least one of Obama's Monday appearances with former President Bill Clinton -- the one in Virginia -- may be at risk. Obama and Clinton are booked in Orlando; Youngstown, Ohio, and in Prince William County, Va., not far from Washington.

† Sandy could head as far north as battleground New Hampshire, where a rally headlined by first lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday at the University of New Hampshire has been scrubbed.

WASHINGTON--Mayor Rahm Emanuel hits battleground Ohio to stump for President Barack Obama on Saturday and Sunday--revving up Obama volunteers and shoring up Jewish votes. Obama's former chief of staff is a headliner on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday morning; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. is also booked on the show to represent the Mitt Romney campaign.

Both Emanuel and McCain stumped for their respective candidates in Florida last week..

WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle won't be missing Halloween at the White House--a presidential tradition.

From the White House: "On Wednesday, the President will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio and Akron, Ohio for campaign events. In the evening, the President and the First Lady will welcome local children and children of military families to trick-or-treat at the North Portico of the White House."

WASHINGTON--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was in a traffic accident in Las Vegas on Friday and suffered only minor injuries, his office said.

Reid office statement:

"Senator Reid and his security detail were involved in a traffic accident today
on Interstate 15 in Las Vegas. Senator Reid was taken to University Medical
Center Hospital by his security detail as a precaution, and walked in on his
own. Senator Reid was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident. He
experienced rib and hip contusions and has been cleared for release by the
doctors. Mrs. Reid was not in the car at the time of the accident. Some of
Senator Reid's detail and a staffer had minor injuries in the accident and were
evaluated at UMC."

WASHINGTON--For a $150 donation--or even less--to the Obama campaign, a contributor will be entered in a lottery to get "right up front" with President Barack Obama in Chicago on election night.

The latest Obama fund-raising gimmick came Friday in an e-mail from Obama senior strategist David Axelrod, who made the appeal for $150 personal.

Axelrod excerpt...

"I don't know how this is going to end. But no matter what, I know each of us will have given this campaign everything we've got. ..."

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fl.--At a Thursday morning rally in Tampa, President Barack Obama is jumping on the rape comment by GOP Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock to make an appeal to female voters, saying women "should be making their own health care decisions."

The Obama team is highlighting Mitt Romney's endorsement of Mourdock--and the ad he made for him.

Said Obama, "While we're at it, as we saw again this week, I don't think any politician in Washington, most of whom are male, should be making health care decisions for women. Women can make those decisions themselves. I don't think your boss or your insurance company should be making those decisions. Women should be making their own health care decisions. That's why the health care law we passed put those choices in your hands. That's where it belongs. And that's where it'll stay as long as I am President of the United States."

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fl.--Once again, former Secretary of State Colin Powell is endorsing President Barack Obama. The backing of the Republican in 2008 was an important vouch for Obama's military and national security credentials. If Powell had supported Mitt Romney, it would have been a blow to Obama. The endorsement comes as Romney is blistering Obama on defense spending.

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- It's Wednesday night and despite the threat of Tropical Storm Sandy, about 200 people filled the Romney campaign storefront office in a mall here for a pep talk from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

"Mitt Romney cannot be president of the United States unless he wins the State of Florida," said McCain, urging the crowd to make "that extra phone call" to get out the Romney vote.

Florida in 2012 is reprising its role as a premier presidential toss-up state.

In 2008, President Barack Obama, won with 51 percent to McCain's 48.2 percent. In 2004, President George W. Bush with 52.1 percent of the vote bested Sen. John Kerry at 47.1 percent. And in 2000, the year of the hanging chad and recount, Bush beat Vice President Al Gore by a mere 537 votes.

Of all the battleground states, Florida is the top prize, with 29 electoral votes. Florida has had a tough go in the past few years; housing values crashed and unemployment was higher here than in other parts of the nation, 8.7 percent in September.

Romney and Obama and their SuperPAC allies are waging a fierce battle on the ground, the airwaves and in mailboxes. Romney is ahead of Obama by 1.8 points, according to the RealClearPolitics.com Florida poll average on Wednesday.

The presidential rivals -- and their spouses -- have been in Florida a lot and will be in and out through Election Day.

There is also a constant flow of well-known surrogates such as McCain and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for Romney and for Obama, one-time Republican, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). Mayor Rahm Emanuel left Florida Monday, working the base and Jewish vote over the weekend.

"It's the biggest swing state," Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, told me. "This is a microcosm of the country, 19 million people. We have people from every walk of life from all around the world."

There are many Hispanic voters but as Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) told me, they are diverse. "You have very large Colombian, Cuban, Nicaraguan, Dominican, Peruvian, Puerto Rican populations in different parts of the state," he said.

Retirees can be found across the Sunshine State and they are politically powerful because they turn out to vote. Bob Graham, a Democrat who is a former Florida governor and senator told me, "there are some peculiar issues to Florida, one of which is Medicare," he said.

Florida has distinct regions:

There is the famous gulf-to-coast "I-4 Corridor" of a growing number of new and swing voters named after the Interstate running east-west from Hillsborough County, which includes the Tampa Bay area through Orlando to Daytona.

Southeast Florida contains folks from or with roots in northern cities and is more Democratic, with most of the state's Jewish voters living in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.

Southwest Florida has more Midwest transplants and leans more Republican. There are conservative Democrats in the Panhandle and large military populations in northern part of the state -- more GOP friendly.

Obama, who on Tuesday headlined a large rally in Delray Beach in southern Florida, along the Atlantic coast, on Thursday touches town in Tampa, on that I-4 contested turf. Ann Romney stumped in Florida on Wednesday and Thursday. Romney works the I-4 with three stops on Saturday -- the day early voting begins in the state.

Most of Florida's African-American voters are registered Democrats, and Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a briefing call to reporters on Tuesday, 'there are 250,000 more registered African-American and Latino voters than there were four years ago when the president won Florida."

Romney strategist Kevin Madden told me, "We are outpacing where McCain was in the I-4 corridor, which is critical. We've had improved numbers with Hispanic voters in the southern part of the state, and we are just seeing improved enthusiasm in places like the Panhandle," he said.

Over at the Romney "victory center" in east Boca, McCain is winding up; he invokes a famous saying of unclear origin to crank up the troops. Said McCain, "don't forget the immortal words of the late Mayor Daley of Chicago, 'Vote early and vote often'."

President Barack Obama on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno blasted Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's rape comments.

LENO: The senate candidate Richard Mourdock. He made a statement today -- or I -- or at least I saw it today. I want quote what he said. He said -- he was asked about rape and -- "I struggled with it, myself, for a long time, but I came to realize life is a gift from God. And even if life begins in a horrible situation of rape, it is something God intended to happen " which -- I mean, this seems like we're back to Todd Akin time again.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well -- you know, I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas. Let me make a very simple proposition.

LENO: Mm-hm.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Rape is rape. It is a crime. And so, these various distinctions about rape and, you know -- don't make too much sense to me. Don't make any sense to me. The second thing this underscores, though, this is exactly why you don't want a bunch of politicians -- mostly male -- making decisions about women's health care decisions. I -- women are capable of making these decisions in consultation with their partners, with their doctors. And, you know, for politicians to want to intrude in this stuff, often times without any information, is a huge problem. And this is obviously a part of what's at stake in this election. You've got a Supreme Court that -- you know, typically a president is gonna have probably another couple of appointments during the course of his term. And, you know, Roe vs. Wade is probably hanging in the balance. You've got issues like Planned Parenthood where, you know, that organization provides millions of women cervical cancer screenings, mammograms -- all kinds of basic healthcare.

LENO: Right.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: And so I think it's really important for us to -- to understand that women are capable of making these decisions and that these are not just women's issues. These are family issues.

###

President Barack Obama pokes at Donald Trump on the Jay Leno Show on Wednesday. Trump on Wednesday said he would give Obama $5 million if he released his college and passport records.

According to the pool report, Obama told Leno that the beef dates back to when he and Trump were growing up Kenya.

"We had constant run-ins on the soccer field," Obama said. "He wasn't very good and resented it. When we finally moved to America I thought it would be over."

Following up: Former President Bill Clinton was in Chicago on Tuesday for a $10,000-per-person fund-raiser to benefit the Obama re-election campaign. The lunch was at Gibson's Bar & Steakhouse.

I posted Clinton was hitting the city on Oct. 1.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- With debates out of the way, Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are blitzing a handful of battleground states as their campaigns are putting enormous energy into turning out early votes.

On Tuesday, Romney, Obama and their running mates, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Vice President Joe Biden, stumped in the states that are toss-ups in their quest for 270 electoral votes needed to claim the White House.

National polls show Romney and Obama are in a dead heat. But it's not a national election anymore.

It's intense combat in mainly seven battleground states to win at least 50.1 percent in order to claim the states' electoral votes.

Both campaigns and their allies are flooding the battlegrounds with ads -- and putting enormous effort into what is known as GOTV, getting out the vote, with a mega-effort to lock in supporters early by getting them to take advantage of early voting.

"Now, two weeks from today, Americans in all 50 states will step into the voting booth, but here in Florida, you get to start voting on Saturday," Obama told a crowd of 11,000 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center on Tuesday morning before moving on to another battleground, Ohio.

Early voting started in Ohio on Oct. 2; in Dayton, where Obama was joined by Biden later on Tuesday, the president reminded the crowd, "here in Ohio, you can vote early. Here in Ohio, you can vote right after this event. If you want to know where to vote, you go to vote.barackobama.com."

In Henderson, Nev., a suburb of Las Vegas, Ryan, introducing Romney, urged, "Hey, don't forget, early voting already started. You can get out there; you can cast your vote. We need your help."

Romney repeated the message. "I want you to make sure to begin voting. Early voting has already started. Vote. Get out there. We want you to start voting right now."

The ground game for both campaigns -- in the broadest strokes -- at essence has the same goal. As Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a Tuesday briefing call with reporters, "If you think about what we're doing on the ground the next 14 days, it's quite simple. We have two jobs: one, to persuade the undecideds, and two, to turn our voters out."

". . . Every single day now is Election Day, and voters in Iowa, in Nevada, in Wisconsin, in Ohio are voting every day and they're voting for Barack Obama."

Romney strategist Kevin Madden said they were in great shape with the early vote. "The level of enthusiasm we have right now is outpacing theirs," he told me. ". . . It's a crucial two-week stage with early voting going on, and people are really getting to the point where they are making up their minds."

Early voting is seen as so important that Obama, in a 48-hour, two-day battleground state blitz, will touch down in Chicago on Thursday to make history by being the first president to cast an early ballot.

Obama on Wednesday sprints through Iowa, Colorado and Nevada, darting over to solid Democratic California for two hours and 20 minutes to tape Jay Leno's "Tonight Show."

On Thursday, Obama returns to Florida, touches down in Virginia and rushes over to Chicago for a few hours in order to throw a spotlight on the importance of the early vote, and ends up back in Ohio.

Romney is circling through those states as well.

The best way to know what the campaigns know when it comes to battlegrounds as it gets closer to Election Day is to see where Romney, Obama, Ryan and Biden travel and where the campaigns send key surrogates.

Everyone I talked to agreed: Ohio, with 18 electoral votes, is emerging as the place where the fight will be most fierce, followed by Florida, with 29 votes and Virginia, 13. The others are New Hampshire with 4; Wisconsin, 10; Iowa, 6, and Nevada, 6.

The RealClearPolitics map analysis Tuesday gives Obama 201 electoral votes to 206 for Romney, with 131 votes up for grabs.

When I talked with Obama White House senior adviser David Plouffe on Monday in Boca Raton after the debate, I asked him if he had a top tier of battlegrounds.

Said Plouffe, "I can't do that. They are like children. They are all special and we think we can win them all."

(video by Lynn Sweet)
President Barack Obama makes his closing argument at a Delray Beach, Florida rally on Oct. 23.

"That's the kind of President I've been, Florida. That's the kind of President I intend to be. I'm asking for your vote. I'm asking for your help. I believe in you, and I'm asking you to believe in me. And if you stand with me, and work with me, and knock on some doors with me, and make some phone calls with me, if you do that, we will win Palm Beach County again. We'll win Florida again. We'll finish what we started. We will win this election. And we'll remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth.

"God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."

(photo by Lynn Sweet)

(photo by Lynn Sweet)

(photo by Lynn Sweet)

HIGHLAND BEACH, Fl.--"You Don't Own Me" was an anthem of the 1960s and Lesley Gore is re-introducing her hit to spur women to vote. While the new video--featuring a variety of women lip-synching her song--is not a direct appeal for President Barack Obama, it does highlight Mitt Romney's opposition to reproductive rights.

Gore appears at the start saying "I'm Lesley Gore and I approve this message."

At the end she appears again noting she recorded the song in 1964 and "It's hard for me to believe but we're still fighting for the same things we were then. Yes, ladies, we've got to come together and get out there and vote and protect our bodies. They're ours. Please vote."

Suzi Parker, over at the Washington Post's "She the People" writes, "the video, labeled as "YouDon'tOwnMePSA," is the mastermind of Sarah Sophie Flicker, a law school graduate, filmmaker, trapeze artist, mother and leader of New York's The Citizens Band, a cabaret collective that makes political statements."