Fed's $85 Billion Loan Rescues Insurer  —  By EDMUND L. ANDREWS, MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH  —  WASHINGTON — Fearing a financial crisis worldwide, the Federal Reserve reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would give the government control …

Prominent Clinton backer and DNC member to endorse McCain  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee's Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN.

McCain campaign clamps down on questions in Alaska  —  JUNEAU, Alaska - GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is effectively turning over questions about her record as Alaska's governor to John McCain's political campaign, part of an ambitious Republican strategy to limit …

16 Die in Attack on U.S. Embassy in Yemen  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — Heavily armed militants opened fire on the United States Embassy in Sana, Yemen, on Wednesday and detonated a car bomb at its gates, in an attack that left at least 16 people dead including six of the attackers, Yemeni officials said.

Obama-Biden Reservations Confirmed  —  STANDING BY THE STORY  —  The Obama campaign spent more than five hours on Monday attempting to figure out the best refutation of the explosive New York Post report that quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying that Barack Obama during …

Clinton blindsided by scheduled event with Palin  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by inviting Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, aides to the senator said Tuesday.

True Whoppers  —  Economists are not generally known for their lyrical phrasing.  But the other day, one told me something about the election that has stuck with me: He cautioned against succumbing to the “symmetry of sin.”  —  This unexpected snippet of political poetry …

The Mortgage Debacle - Not Enough Blame To Share Some With The Democrats?  —  Nancy Pelosi somewhat implausibly insisted that Democrats are blameless in the current mortgage debacle: … Barack Obama blames Bush for slack oversight: … However, the record tells the opposite story …

Can Obama really pull it off?  —  Can Barack Obama actually blow this thing?  Can he actually lose in November?  —  We have a deeply troubled economy, an unpopular war, a very unpopular president and a historic reluctance on the part of the American people to elect the same party to the White House three terms in a row.

Sebelius: Say, did you know Republicans are racists?  Update: AP or Miami Herald tries cleaning up Sebelius' comments  —  Hmmm.  Didn't Barack Obama just get done scolding John McCain over “dishonorable” attacks?  Maybe he should save his criticisms for his surrogates, except that they're parroting The One in his own baseless smears.

Get Your Class War On  —  Now comes the fall culture-war offensive, catching the Democrats by surprise as it always does and spreading panic and desperation among their ranks.  As the depth of the Republican breakthrough becomes apparent to Democrats, they launch the same feeble counterattacks …

OBAMA GAMBLES ON LENGTHY ECONOMIC AD.... Audiences have grown accustomed to certain kinds of political advertising.  The new spot from the Obama campaign is a little something different.  —  The spot is two minutes long, making it four times as long as the typical campaign ad.

Financial gloom doesn't halt glitzy Obama fundraiser  —  So what does Barack Obama do after a hard day of defending the common man during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression?  —  Throw a $28,500-a-head fundraising dinner, of course.  —  Followed by a $2,500 …

Democrats Go There  —  I'm sure Keith Olbermann will be angered to tears over exploiting this tragedy.  —  So long as we know what the ground rules are, fine.  We'll start running commercials accusing Democrats of dishonoring the dead.  (F**k that— let's have some now-out-of-the-service vets explain …

Strong Fundamentals  —  Eric Rauchway reflects on Herbert Hoover's October 25, 1929 proclamation that “The fundamental business of the country, that is the production and distribution of commodities, is on a sound and prosperous basis.” … Now of course to actually get down to the depths …