Clinton leads Obama in Ohio - barely: 47% to 43%  —  Ohio Democratic voters are nearly split over their choice for president, according to new Plain Dealer poll that shows Hillary Clinton clinging to a 4 percentage point lead over Barack Obama in Ohio, 47 percent to 43 percent.

“Why are the letters ‘NIG’ on the child's pajamas?”  —  Asks a commenter — “Tom” — on my post about the new Hillary Clinton commercial, the one that shows several children sleeping and then Clinton taking a national security phone call in the middle of the night.

Marion Cotillard's 9/11 conspiracy theory  —  Oscar-winning Marion Cotillard was facing embarrasment with her new American public last night after it emerged that she doubted the official account of the September 11 attacks.  —  The 32-year-old French star has swept this year's best actress awards …

Abbas: IDF action worse than Holocaust  —  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas labeled Israel's actions to counter the constant firing of rockets into the Gaza Strip “worse than the Holocaust.”  —  Abbas said that Israel's response to the continuous bombardment of western Negev towns …

Obama Spends Heavily to Seek Knockout Blow  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio —Taking advantage of his huge financial edge, Senator Barack Obama is buying large amounts of advertising and building extensive get-out-the-vote operations in Ohio and Texas in an effort to deal Hillary Rodham Clinton twin defeats …

Feminist Infighting  —  There is a lot of discussion about “feminist in-fighting” of late, spurred by the election.  Jessica Valenti of Feministing.com is doing a piece on the subject for The Nation.  Here is my response to her query:  —  1. The fact is there have always been many …

Obama Adds Nato and Europe to Campaign Speeches  —  After last week's debate when Barack Obama acknowledged he hadn't held a single hearing on Nato and Afghanistan during his year as chair of the European Affairs subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee because he was running for President …

House Democrats may move to split spy bill  —  Under pressure to end an impasse over espionage legislation, House Democrats are considering a plan to vote on a bill next week that would give the government broad new eavesdropping authorities but strip out a provision that would protect phone companies from lawsuits.

Media Expert Decries Campaign Coverage  —  DALLAS (AP) - The founder of a prestigious institute on media and politics added his voice Saturday to the chorus of complaint over perceived press bias in favor of Democrat Barack Obama.  —  Walter Shorenstein, a prominent San Francisco-based real …

Obama Ad In Texas: Are We Rounding Up Arab-American Families?  —  Update: Seems official - Out of many, One.  —  I haven't had time to look into this stuff from John Batchelor implying even more links between Obama and some dubious figures in, or with links to the Middle East.

'72 McGovern Team Rallies for One of Its Own: Clinton  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — Frank Herrera, a prominent lawyer in Texas, was sitting at home two Saturdays ago when he received a telephone call.  —  The voice at the end of the line was that of an old friend from Senator George McGovern's 1972 …

Ship built with WTC steel christened  —  AVONDALE, La. - The USS New York, an amphibious assault ship built with scrap steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, was christened Saturday as a source of strength and inspiration for the nation.  —  Thousands of people …

As Developer Heads to Trial, Questions Linger Over a Deal With Obama  —  Tony Rezko was obviously in trouble.  He was a defendant in at least a dozen lawsuits, federal investigators in Chicago were poking around and his name was in newspaper stories about corruption and fraud.

Ahmadinejad on historic Iraq trip  —  BAGHDAD - President Bush's last trip to Iraq was kept secret until he arrived at a U.S. military base.  Eight hours later he left, after Iraq's leaders traveled to meet him there.  —  In sharp contrast, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit …

Clinton Skips Flight; Campaign Won't Say Why  —  DALLAS — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has disappeared from the campaign trail, and her campaign plane, with no explanation.  —  Clinton did not show up for this afternoon's flight from Dallas to Columbus, Ohio, and campaign spokesman Doug Hattaway …