Palin raises $8 million — for Obama  —  Obama's coffers have been filling since Sarah Palin attacked him repeatedly in St. Paul last night.  —  An Obama aide confirms Drudge's report that Obama has raised about $8 million from more than 130,000 donors and is on pace to raise $10 million by the time McCain reaches the stage tonight.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS.  —  Chris Hayes fires back on Giuliani and Palin's mockery of “community organizers”: … Adam Serwer agrees: … But look, let's call a spade a spade: When Giuliani sneered about community organizers on the “South side” of Chicago, it's pretty clear what he's saying …

Westmoreland calls Obama ‘uppity’  —  Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term “uppity” to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.  —  Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside …

Ways To Win … This week's polling continues to show voters waiting to decide about Sarah Palin (see yesterday's poll on Palin).  But in interviewing done yesterday, 83 percent of registered voters said that spouse and family of a candidate will not affect their votes.

Obama: Surge Succeeded Beyond ‘Wildest Dreams’  —  The troop surge in Iraq has been more successful than anyone could have imagined, Barack Obama conceded Thursday in his first-ever interview on FOX News' “The O'Reilly Factor.”  —  As recently as July, the Democratic presidential candidate declined …

Republican vice presidential nominee Palin attended 5 colleges in 6 years  —  SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) _ Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin attended five colleges in six years before graduating from the University of Idaho in 1987.  —  Federal privacy laws prohibit the schools …

Cindy McCain's $300,000 Outfit  —  One of the persistent memes in the Republican line of attack against Barack Obama is the notion that he is an elitist, whereas the G.O.P. represent real working Americans like Levi “F-in' Redneck” Johnston.  —  It caught our attention, then …

Dow Industrials Fall 340 Points  —  Stocks on Wall Street plunged on Thursday, but few investors seemed to settle on one reason.  —  A broad sell-off sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 344.65 points at the close — the index's worst performance since June — hours after the government reported …

Abramoff sentenced to four years  —  Jack Abramoff, the disgraced former lobbyist who orchestrated a wide-ranging scheme to corrupt several members of Congress, was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday afternoon.  —  Judge Ellen Huvelle ordered Abramoff to serve an additional 48 months …

Obama to Dispatch Female Surrogates  —  ST. PAUL — Senator Barack Obama will increasingly lean on prominent Democratic women to undercut Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain, dispatching Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to Florida on Monday and creating a rapid-response team …

The death of a taboo  —  ST. PAUL — One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today.  It was nearly seven years old.  —  The informal prohibition, which had been occasionally threatened …

Newest Palin Smear: She Cut Special Needs Budget  —  I just watched CNN's Soledad O'Brien sandbag former White House Communications Director Nicole Wallace by asking her how Sarah Palin can claim to be a defender of special needs children when she cut the budget for that Alaska office by 62 percent.

Clinton: Obama ‘Change You Can Xerox’  —  Clinton Accuses Obama of Political Plagiarism, Saying He Represents ‘Change You Can Xerox’  —  Clinton also raised Obama's use in his campaign speeches of words first uttered by his friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

Nearly 125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer  —  Total Is About Double The Death Toll In Iraq  —  CHICAGO (CBS) ― An estimated 123 people were shot and killed over the summer.  That's nearly double the number of soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

Palin: wrong woman, wrong message  —  Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton.  She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.  —  Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing — the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party …