Obama: ‘Lipstick on a pig’  —  Amie Parnes reports from Lebanon, VA: … The crowd apparently took the “lipstick” line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: “lipstick.”  —  UPDATE: The McCain campaign is now saying Obama called Palin a pig, which he didn't.

As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone  —  From the moment Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin declared that she had opposed the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere,” critics, the news media and nonpartisan fact checkers have called it a fabrication or, at best, a half-truth.

DC Handwringing  —  If I had my way I would be in Utica, New York right now.  —  When we first discussed where to put the Clinton campaign's headquarters I half-seriously argued for Utica, on the theory that the further away from Washington, D.C. we were, the better off we would be.

Warned by the Court  —  A judge repeatedly told Palin and family not to badmouth her sister's ex  —  An Anchorage judge three years ago warned Sarah Palin and members of her family to stop “disparaging” the reputation of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten, who at the time was undergoing …

New McCain Ad Falsely Suggests Obama Wants Kids To Learn “About Sex Before Learning To Read”  —  The McCain campaign is up with a new ad attacking Obama on education that makes some rather strong insinuations about sex:  —  There's a lot to chew on here.  But we want to focus on one particularly pernicious aspect of it.

Palin bounce has Democrats off balance  —  Some fear Obama's more aggressive tone could enhance her appeal among white, blue-collar voters.  —  The emergence of Sarah Palin as a political force in the presidential race has left many top Democrats fretting that, just two weeks …

Yes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge  —  “But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change.  Come on!  I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up.”  — Barack Obama, Sept. 6, 2008

From the Gut  —  If John McCain can win this election race with a 50-pound ball called “George W. Bush” wrapped around one ankle and a 50-pound ball called “The U.S. Economy” wrapped around the other, then he deserves to represent America in the next Olympics in any race he wants — swimming …

Summers Backs Second Stimulus Amid Deficit Warning  —  User Name:  —  Password:  —  Remember Me  —  Log In  —  Forgot your username or password?  REAL TIME ECONOMICS  —  Economic insight and analysis from The Wall Street Journal.  —  Blog Search:  —  September 9, 2008, 3:27 pm

Lehman Sees $3.9 Billion Loss and Plans to Shed Assets  —  The investment bank Lehman Brothers, in an all-out fight for its survival, said Wednesday morning that it expected a loss of $3.9 billion, or $5.92 a share, in the third quarter after $5.6 billion in write-downs.

Fresh blood for the vampire  —  A beady-eyed McCain gets a boost from the charismatic Sarah Palin, a powerful new feminist — yes, feminist! — force.  Plus: Obama must embrace his dull side.  —  Rip tide!  Is the Obama campaign shooting out to sea like a paper boat?

Palin Energizing Women From All Walks of Life  —  Susie Baron is a Republican, a mother of two and a home-schooler.  She voted for Mike Huckabee in the Ohio primary, but now — because of Sarah Palin — she thinks she is part of something much bigger.  —  “I wouldn't even call it a Palin movement …

The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for  —  An America that disdains Obama for his global support risks turning current anti-Bush feeling into something far worse  —  The feeling is familiar.  I had it four years ago and four years before that: a sinking feeling in the stomach.

P.S. on “One Thumb Down(ish)”  —  Sarah Palin is a trillion things.  She is not a victim.  She is basically the most unvictim person out there.  And we should be careful about implying otherwise.  You know what I mean?  It's hard to say in a sentence or two; there are subtleties.

The Obama Campaign's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day  —  So let me get this straight, in one day:  — Joe Biden, intentionally or not, insinuates that Sarah Palin doesn't care about special needs kids because of conservative objections to stem cell research (and the objections of Biden's own religion, natch).

Living to Bomb Another Day  —  “AMONG all the bombs, explosives and guns, the number of martyred dead is rising.  Though this is the will of Allah, it is nevertheless possible to cause the enemy greater damage without exposing the Muslims to danger.  How is it to be done?”

Family with Down Syndrome Child Meets John McCain and Sarah Palin  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: Kurt in Pittsburgh, hello, sir.  Nice to have you on the EIB Network, and how about the Steelers defense?  —  CALLER: How about those Steelers, huh?  —  RUSH: How about that?

NBC/WSJ Poll: '08 race turns into a dead heat  —  Barack Obama holds a narrow one-point lead over John McCain  —  Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin stand together on the stage during a campaign event at in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 6, 2008.  —  Deputy political director