memeorandum: GOP retires 'Playboy' ad in Tennessee (Norah O'Donnell/MSNBC)

9:30 PM ET, October 26, 2006

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Robin Toner / New York Times:
Ad Seen as Playing to Racial Fears

Discussion: Globe and Mail, Attytood, Outside The Beltway, PoliBlog, DownWithTyranny!, Hit and Run, NewsBusters.org, Blog P.I., The American Scene and First Read

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:

Bush Signs U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Bill — WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration.

Discussion: Senator Bill Frist, Michelle Malkin, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, Sweetness & Light, Big Brass Blog, Freedom Folks, Wizbang and Dogwood Pundit

Peter Bergen / New York Times:

What Osama Wants — THE French saying, often attributed to Talleyrand, that "this is worse than a crime, it's a blunder," could easily describe America's invasion of Iraq. But for the United States to pull entirely out of that country right now, as is being demanded by a growing chorus of critics …

Discussion: TAPPED, Counterterrorism Blog, The Glittering Eye, AMERICAN FUTURE, Abu Aardvark, The News Blog, A Chequer-Board of Nights … and Blue Crab Boulevard

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:

A Match Made In Washington: It's A Quote Off! Round 1... (H/T to Steve Clemons for the pix.) — It's down to the final decisions on the Match Made in Washington Quote Off. But I need your help to determine the winners. Voting begins now, and will continue until tomorrow …

The Blotter:

Trandahl Names Kolbe as a 'Problem' With Page Program, Source Says — Rhonda Schwartz and John Yang Report: — A source close to former House Clerk Jeff Trandahl told ABC News that Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) was one of a small number of "problem members" …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and CorrenteWire

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

In Iraq, Journalist Richard Engel Sticks to the Story — NBC Correspondent Has Made War Coverage His Life — NEW YORK — After struggling for years to make it as a Middle East journalist, Richard Engel was living in Cairo, married to his college girlfriend and itching for a new adventure.

Discussion: The Corner

Pamela Geller Oshry / Atlas Shrugs:

ATLAS INTERVIEW: MARK STEYN WARNS US — Mark Steyn Interview: Money quote (for Atlas) (minute 7:47, Part II) … From Steyn? I can die and go to heaven now. My day, month, year is made. Totally. — Here's the audio in two parts, anyone who wants to convert to MP3? — Download mark_steyn_part_i.wav

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, Mere Rhetoric and One Jerusalem Blog

Tim Tagaris / Ned Lamont for Senate:

Barack Obama Writes Emails [17] — Barack Obama Writes Emails — (Barack Obama sent out an email to his CT list supporting Ned Lamont earlier today - Tim) — Ned Lamont has waged an impressive grassroots campaign to give the people of Connecticut a choice in the November Senate election.

Jonathan S. Landay / Miami Herald:

Cheney calls 'water-boarding' a valuable interrogation tool — The vice president confirmed that an interrogation technique that simulates drowning and has been called 'cruel and inhumane' was used on al Qaeda suspects. — jlanday@mcclatchydc.com — WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Andrew Sullivan, SEIXON, The Next Hurrah, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, Ankle Biting Pundits, The Democratic Daily, Majikthise, The Road to Surfdom and Think Progress

Tom Zeller Jr / New York Times:

A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data — If things go as planned for liberal bloggers in the next few weeks, searching Google for "Jon Kyl," the Republican senator from Arizona now running for re-election, will produce high among the returns a link to an April 13 article from The Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly.

Discussion: Hot Air, Let Freedom Ring, Cold Fury, Iowa Voice, NewsBusters.org and MSNBC

Larry J. Sabato / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

2006: THE BIG PICTURE — We've been through a lot together this election cycle, and now we're headed for the last round-up on November 7th. Your Crystal Ball staff will be tweaking our predictions right up until election eve, taking into account last-minute shifts, scandals, and surprises.

Discussion: VOLuntarilyConservative

Hotline On Call:

Seven Reasons Why Karl Rove Is Optimistic — Ok, well, actually, we can't break into Rove's head and we don't know why he's personally confident. Many speculate that the veneer of hope masks unalloyed fear. But here are seven reasons cited by people who also read "THE polls" …

Discussion: The Agitator, MyDD, PoliPundit.com and Oliver Willis