Guess which card Obama pulled out of the deck today?  —  With both Rasmussen and Gallup showing Barack Obama moving backwards even before the Republican Convention dropped its balloons on Andrea Mitchell, one can excuse the Democratic nominee for hearing footsteps.  How desperate has he gotten?

U.S. Rescue Seen at Hand for 2 Mortgage Giants  —  WASHINGTON — Senior officials from the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve on Friday informed top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, that the government was preparing to seize the two companies …

Updated: McCain beats Obama.  Unless ...  UPDATED: If election night is half as close and contested as Thursday's ratings race, we're in for a heckuva evening.  —  John McCain's speech was watched by more viewers than Barack Obama's, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Plane Not Sold on eBay  —  One of the compelling anecdotes about Sarah Palin is that she auctioned off the Alaska governor's jet on eBay after taking office — a swift move made by a reformer hoping to clean up the excesses of her predecessor.  —  But in fact, the jet did not sell on eBay.

Creation Myth  —  What Barack Obama won't tell you about his community organizing past.  —  In late October 1987, Barack Obama and Jerry Kellman took a weekend off from their jobs as community organizers in Chicago and traveled to a conference on social justice and the black church at Harvard.

Sarah Palin the ‘Earmark Queen’ of AK Left Wasilla $20 Million in Debt  —  After finishing as a runner up for Miss Alaska 1984, Sarah Palin went on to be crowned the state's Queen of Earmarks and its Empress of Fiscal Irresponsibility.  —  Wonk Room: Sarah Palin: Earmark Queen Of The Earmark State

Palin's stall  —  Governor is stonewalling the Troopergate investigation  —  Gov. Sarah Palin is taking the wrong approach to Troopergate.  She should be practicing the open and transparent, ethical and accountable government she promised when running for governor and boasts about now that she's on the national stage.

No Interviews Till She's Ready  —  A senior McCain campaign official advises that, despite the gaggle of requests and pressure from the media, Gov. Sarah Palin won't submit to a formal interview anytime soon.  She may take some questions from local news entities in Alaska, but until she's ready …

Oprah & The Governor  —  I think Peter and others are right that Oprah's reported refusal to have Governor Palin on her show will be much discussed and may indeed cause headaches of one kind or another for Oprah.  I even think Oprah should have her on for this or that reason.

Why Bother?  —  A question that shows up a lot in my email box is: Why bother?  —  Sarah Palin is the vice presidential nominee of the Republican party.  That's a fact.  The ticket can now only win or lose.  I want the ticket to win.  So why not shut up and get with the program?

School Raps McCain For Using Image As Speech Backdrop Without Permission  —  Okay, the McCain-Walter Reed Middle School backdrop debacle is getting weirder by the second.  Now the principal of the school is hammering McCain for using footage of the school during his convention speech without seeking the school's permission.

Obama Campaign National Finance Committee Member Criticizes Palin's Parenting  —  On the Laura Ingraham Radio show, Friday, attorney Howard Gutman — an original member of the national finance committee for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. — very directly criticized the parenting of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Blogger: RNC Organizer Said Protesters Had MSNBC Badges  —  Update |  2:56 PM EDT: Responding to my inquiry, Alana Russo of MSNBC has stated it's “completely, totally untrue” that the credentials had originated from MSNBC.  In a subsequent message Ms. Russo indicated she did not know whether …

David Lat's Ex-Hillaryites For Palin.  Well, McCain-Palin...  David Lat, the popular, idysocrantic former federal prosecutor who blogs at Above The Law, has started a Facebook group for former supporters of Hillary Clinton who now support the McCain-Palin ticket because Gov. Sarah Palin.