McCain-Palin Crowd-Size Estimates Not Backed by Officials  —  Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) — Senator John McCain has drawn some of the biggest crowds of his presidential campaign since adding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to his ticket on Aug. 29.  Now officials say they can't substantiate the figures McCain's aides are claiming.

Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes  —  WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal.  —  So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate …

Powerless: More than 99 percent of region in the dark  —  Comments Recommend  —  Daybreak today in Hurricane Ike's wake only revealed what Houston area power providers already knew — the lights are out for roughly 5 million people, and getting the juice flowing again will be a painstaking process that could take weeks.

Barack Obama under fire for ignoring advice on how to beat John McCain  —  Barack Obama and his senior advisers are under fire for ignoring the advice of Democratic senators and governors who are concerned that they do not know how to beat John McCain.  —  The Democratic presidential candidate's slump …

McCain's Economist: We Need Tax Increases  —  Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Director of the Congressional Budget Office and current chief McCain economic advisor tells Fortune columnist Matt Miller in a forthcoming book, The Tyranny of Dead Ideas, that the next President is simply going to have to raise taxes.

Palin sticks to the familiar in first solo outing  —  CARSON CITY, Nev. - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin made her first solo campaign appearance outside her home state Saturday, sticking largely to a speech that has boosted her popularity among Republican faithful but drawn criticism for having misstatements.

‘Obama Waffles’ featuring racist, stereotyped images sold at Values Voter Summit.  —  At the Values Voter Summit this weekend, vendors sold an item called “Obama Waffles” featuring a racist cartoon of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on the box front — with “popping eyes and big, thick lips” …

I Knew When I Married Her ...  ... she was hot and smart.  Fifteen years on she's all that and it turns the wife can write, too.  But don't take my word for it.  —  New York Times Sunday Book Review: … Reasonable people can disagree about that “comes close to ruining” ending part …

Obama aide: McCain camp ‘sleaziest’ in modern history  —  MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama's spokesman on Saturday accused Sen. John McCain of “cynically running the sleaziest and least honorable campaign in modern presidential campaign history.”

Libtalker: Sarah Palin Has Unhealthy Interest In Teenage Boys  —  SINKING DEEPER  —  Rhodes Suggests Palin Likes To Sleep With Teenage Boys  —  Just how far are lefty pundits willing to go to smear Sarah Palin?  On behalf of the “progressive” movement, libtalker Randi Rhodes seems determined …

Battlegrounds: Florida, Pennsylvania breaking for McCain?  —  As if the Barack Obama needed any more bad news, the St. Petersburg Times and Zogby both deliver cause for pessimism at Team O. Florida polling shows that despite spending millions in advertising in the Sunshine State and a delay …

Biden prepares for more prominent role in campaign  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The vice presidential nominee you aren't hearing so much about, Democrat Joe Biden, is planning a more prominent role to help validate Barack Obama among white working-class voters and criticize the Republican rival he's long called a friend.

Obama's Fundraising Machine Still Rolling as Campaign Stays Coy  —  Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) — Barack Obama may be playing possum.  —  John McCain's campaign is boasting about a surge in fundraising following his pick of running mate Sarah Palin, a swell of cash that his campaign says has eroded the money advantage Obama once enjoyed.

McCain on FCS: Flip-flop or fib?  —  Has Sen. John McCain renounced his longtime antagonism toward the Army's Future Combat Systems?  —  On Sept. 8, the Republican presidential candidate told a rally crowd in Lee's Summit, Mo., about an Obama video message to a liberal advocacy group.