Scary headlines: Who is going to lead us through these dark days in our future?

— Editor's note: Tanya Amador-Daigle is reporting for Florida Weekly on the presidential election. She has a unique perspective on the primaries and the process for choosing a candi date, having traveled the country reporting on pri maries and caucuses for the Purple States project. To learn more about Purple States go, to www.purplestates.tv.

"World Bank Under Cyber Siege in 'Unprecedented Crisis'" and "Chicken Stealing During Depression." These are just some of the scary headlines I saw this week. Today, it seems like the sky is falling all around us. As the presidential election draws closer, Americans are asking themselves, "Who can save us?"

Americans are angry

I've been to a lot of rallies this year for the Purple States project. During the primary season, rallies and town hall meetings were cheerful and hopeful.

More recently, the vibe seems to be changing. Ever since that dark day when the bailout was passed, it seems that with every drop of the stock market, Americans are showing their angst. The rallies now seem passionately angry and ominous, with a touch of underlying steam that threatens to explode.

At the local Sarah Palin rally last Monday, was held at the Germain Arena, several protestors were thrown out. This isn't unusual. I've never been to a political rally where someone WASN'T thrown out. The opposition is good at infiltrating.

However, it seems there is more fury behind the outbursts now.

The Washington Post reported that someone in the audience at the Clearwater rally that morning yelled, "Kill him" when Gov. Palin spoke of Sen. Barack Obama's association with William Ayers. Mr. Ayers is the guy who was labeled by the FBI as a domestic terrorist after he founded the radical Weather Underground in the 1960s. Other accusations are that a man yelled a racial slur at an African American cameraman, and that members of the press were jeered at after Gov. Palin made reference to her disastrous Katie Couric interview.

The desperation is palpable

On television recently, at a town hall meeting in Waukesha, Wisc., I watched radio talk show host James T. Harris say to Sen. John McCain, "It is absolutely vital that you take it to Obama, that you hit him where it hurts, there's a soft spot. We have all of these shady characters who have surrounded him (Sen. Obama). I am begging you sir, I'm begging you, take it to him."

In front of the same crowd in Waukesha, another man said, "I'm mad, I'm really mad! When you have Sen. Obama and the rest of the hooligans up there, going to run the country, we have to have our head examined." Adding, "It's time the two of you represent the rest of us. So go get 'em."

Voter fraud

I recently spoke with a university student who confided to me that she just discovered that some of the students at her school, who are supposed to be registering students to vote, are tearing up ballots for Sen. McCain. I cannot mention my source name yet until the cat is out of the bag. However, I'm confident it will soon become public since they've gone to the proper authorities.

In Nevada, over at the headquarters for ACORN, The Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, the FBI has seized records and computers, prompted by complaints of voter fraud. Sen. McCain's camp claims that the supposedly bi-partisan group has received $832,000 from Sen. Obama within the last year. I seriously doubt Sen. Obama knew they were up to no good, but it certainly doesn't look great that he once represented the group in a lawsuit.

ACORNs' track record with the authorities doesn't put it in a good light. It has been under investigation countless times, in several states, for voting irregularities and an embezzlement case. It's just more ammo for the McCain camp to use as an example of what they consider Sen. Obama's poor judgment in whom he associates with. The audacity of ACORN is absolutely stunning. I mean, come on, using the names of the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys football team for fake ballots? I wonder what Tony Romo and Terrell Owens think about that.

With a global economy on the verge of imploding, and only 21 days left to D-Day (Decision Day), I wonder what turn this country will take, once a new president is chosen.