Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

MEME TAKING HOLD?  —  We've now had a week of blaring headlines and one-liners about Sarah Palin as the mavericky, pork-busting reformer from Alaska.  But we seem to be witnessing the first stirrings of a backlash and a dawning realization that the ‘Sarah Palin’ we've heard …

We'll Protect Taxpayers From More Bailouts  —  The bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is another outrageous, but sadly necessary, step for these two institutions.  Given the long-term mismanagement and flawed structure of these two companies, this was the only short-term alternative …

O PASTOR IN SEX SCANDAL  —  REV. WRIGHT DONE ME WRONG: CHURCH LADY  —  By SAMUEL GOLDSMITH in Dallas and JEANE MacINTOSH in NY  —  He almost wrecked Barack Obama's presidential dreams, and now firebrand pastor Jeremiah Wright has helped destroy a Dallas church worker's marriage - and her job, The Post has learned.

Koch backs Obama, calls Palin ‘scary’  —  Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who endorsed and worked for George W. Bush in 2004, is endorsing Obama today, NY1 first reported.  —  I asked Koch just now what prompted the move.  —  “The designation of Palin to be vice president,” he said.  “She's scary.”

Quietly, Obama Campaign Calls In The Cavalry  —  There's been a spurt of 527 activity on behalf of Sen. John McCain, but Barack Obama campaign has suddenly gone silent on the subject.  —  That's because, after of year of telling donors not to contribute to 527 groups, of encouraging strategists …

McCain Now Winning Majority of Independents  —  Majority of independents now prefer him over Obama, 52% to 37%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — John McCain's 6 percentage-point bounce in voter support spanning the Republican National Convention is largely explained by political independents shifting …

Surprise Me Most  —  None of us have ever lived through an election at a time when 80 percent of voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction.  But now that we're in the thick of it, a few things are clear.  From voters, the demand is: Surprise Me Most.  For candidates, the lesson is: Weirdness Wins.

Too Cool to Fight?  —  Thank God for Sarah Palin.  Without her jibes, her sarcasm, her exaggerations, her smug provincialism, her hypocrisy about family and government, her exploitation of mommyhood, and her personal attacks on Barack Obama, the Democratic base might never be consolidated.

Bush: Few troop pullouts by term's end  —  It was Donald Rumsfeld, the former secretary of defense, who famously said, “You go to war with the Army you have.”  —  And now President Bush effectively is saying that the United States will fight the war in Iraq with the Army it has there through the end of his term:

Andrew Sullivan  —  Lots of e-mails asking about Andrew's whereabouts.  I checked in with him; he's fine.  He's taking a few days off.  Worry not, fans.

On Nov. 4, Remember 9/11  —  THE next president must do one thing, and one thing only, if he is to be judged a success: He must prevent Al Qaeda, or a Qaeda imitator, from gaining control of a nuclear device and detonating it in America.  Everything else — Fannie Mae, health care reform …

Clinton Stumps for Obama, but With Little Fire at Palin  —  In her first campaign outing since the Democratic National Convention, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton urged audiences across central Florida on Monday to oppose the Republican presidential ticket — “no McCain, no Palin” …

What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists?  Lipstick  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Lee's Summit, Mo., Sept. 8, 2008.  —  John McCain announced that he was running for president to confront the “transcendent challenge” …

Student GOP leader resigns over Obama remark  —  Featured Topics: - John McCain - Barack Obama  —  ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The leader of a statewide group of college Republicans has been forced to resign after posting racially insensitive comments about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on the Internet.

In a Not-Remotely-Comic Strip, Bill Ayers Weighs In on What He Meant By 'We Didn't Do Enough' to End Vietnam War  —  In a four-panel not-even-remotely-comic strip, William Ayers, the former member of the Weather Underground and associate of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., weighs in on his blog on some of the controversy he's been causing.

Pastor: GOP may be downplaying Palin's religious beliefs  —  WASILLA, Alaska (CNN) — For more than two decades, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was a practicing Pentecostal.  —  She belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska.