Holtz-Eakin: McCain helped create BlackBerry  —  Asked what work John McCain did as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that helped him understand the financial markets, the candidate's top economic adviser wielded visual evidence: his BlackBerry.  —  “He did this,” Douglas Holtz-Eakin …

MCCAIN, SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION, AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS.  —  I sort of buried this in a previous post, but it's worth drawing out.  Today, John McCain said, “Wall Street has betrayed us.  They've broken the social contract between capitalism and the average citizen and the worker.

GOP delegate's hotel tryst goes bad when he wakes up with $120,000 missing  —  He met her in the bar of the swank hotel and invited her to his room.  Once there, the woman fixed the drinks and told him to get undressed.  —  And that, the delegate to the Republican National Convention told police, was the last thing he remembered.

Palin fires back in Troopergate, releases memos showing insubordination  —  Sarah Palin issued a response to the Troopergate investigation yesterday by releasing internal memoranda that show Walt Monegan got fired for insubordination on budget matters and not because of his refusal to fire Palin's former brother-in-law.

Palin to Meet Foreign Leaders at U.N.  —  Monica Langley reports on the presidential race.  —  Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will meet with foreign leaders next week at the United Nations, a move to boost her foreign-policy credentials, a Republican strategist said.

Count the Lies  —  John McCain may be trying to sell himself as a “maverick” and a “straight talker” who will tell the truth no matter the consequences, but independent, non-partisan watchdog groups aren't buying it.  But, since he wrapped up his party's nomination, John McCain has offered more of the same false attacks and smears.

Studies Detail Contrasts in Rivals' Health-Care Plans  —  Obama's Proposal Would Insure More but at Higher Cost  —  WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health-care plan would make only a small dent in the ranks of the uninsured, at best covering about five million more people, two new reports conclude.

McCain press pack stages mini-insurrection  —  Amie Parnes reports:  —  Reporters traveling with John McCain are slightly miffed that the senator hasn't had any face time with them in, well, a month and three days (But who's counting?)  —  So, when Straight Talk Air departed Tampa today, a dozen reporters chanted, “Bring Mac back!

Gallup Daily: Presidential Contest Remains a Dead Heat  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The Sept. 13-15 Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows John McCain (47%) and Barack Obama (46%) locked in a close contest when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the election were held today.

Russia halts trading after 17% share price fall  —  By Catherine Belton and Charles Clover in Moscow and Rachel Morarjee in London  —  Russian shares suffered their steepest one-day fall in more than a decade on Tuesday, losing up to 20 per cent, as a sharp slide in oil prices …

Pro-Lifers And Amniocentesis: Some Questions  —  An interesting debate has been going on out of the media limelight.  Sarah Palin's decision earlier this year to have an amniocentesis to determine if her unborn child had Down Syndrome is not uncontroversial among pro-lifers.

Palin's Favorability Numbers Eroding  —  As voters have taken a second look at Sarah Palin in venues like the Charlie Gibson interview and even Tina Fey's SNL sketch, they may not be as enamored of what they're seeing.  —  The Research 2000 poll for Daily Kos now has Palin's favorability-unfavorability scores at 45-44 — just a +1.

Cash-poor Obama says no to Reid  —  Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a personal appeal to Barack Obama: Help me grow the Democrats' Senate majority by sharing some of the $77 million you've got in the bank.  —  Obama's campaign said no.

Palin 47%, Biden 44% in Make-believe Presidential Match-up  —  Sarah Palin bests Joseph Biden 47% to 44% in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up for the presidency, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey (see crosstabs).  —  Just over half of voters view …

What is truly frightening about Sarah Palin  —  TEL AVIV - It was in the taxicab this morning that it finally struck me about Sarah Palin.  —  I get it.  I get that millions of Americans have a crying need for someone to stand up and say the things that Sarah Palin has been telling them.

Obama vs. Palin  —  If you want to know why Gov. Sarah Palin drives liberal Democrats crazy — and is helping Sen. Barack Obama raise money at a record pace — here's an excerpt from an viral email making its way around the country:  — If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're “exotic, different.”