McCain Flub?  Republican Says He'd Fire SEC Chair as President  —  ABC News' David Wright reports: At a joint rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Thursday, Republican John McCain slammed the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for being “asleep,” saying that if he were president, he would fire Chris Cox …

McCain Slights Spanish Prime Minister  —  The Union Radio interview with John McCain on issues of interest to Hispanics was conducted in English and only later translated into Spanish for listeners.  The audio above is of the English-only interview.  —  By Glenn Kessler and Ed O'Keefe

FATHER OF HACKER Is Tennessee Dem State Rep!!!!! ...  Update: Name- David Kernell ...Update: He's Been Contacted by Feds!  —  FOLKS— MEET DAVID KERNELL—  WOAH!!!!!!  —  Do you remember this from Michelle Malkin's post last night: … Now there's this...  Wired.com has the latest on the Palin scandal:

Palin's transparency proposal already exists in D.C.  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) - Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she “put the government checkbook online” in Alaska.  On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.

Republican congressman endorses Obama  —  Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, a maverick Republican from Maryland, endorsed Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president in an interview Wednesday with WYPR, Baltimore's National Public Radio station.  —  Gilchrest, who lost a primary campaign …

Gallup Daily: Obama 48%, McCain 44%  —  Marks Obama's first statistically significant lead in two weeks  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The Sept. 15-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows Barack Obama with a 48% to 44% lead over John McCain among registered voters, marking the first time that Obama …

Palin disinvited from Iran rally  —  The organizers of an anti-Iran rally Monday rescinded their invitation to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin after Democrats protested that her presence would turn the event into a political rally, McCain campaign and Jewish community sources said.

Key Bush States Might Flip  —  BARACK OBAMA IS DOING WELL IN FOUR OF FIVE BUSH-WON BATTLEGROUNDS POLLED BY ALLSTATE/NATIONAL JOURNAL.  —  Propelled by dissatisfaction with the country's direction but hampered by doubts about his readiness for the presidency, Barack Obama is forcefully challenging John …

Shocker: Palin Cancels Big California Swing  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was to star at two major California fundraisers and an Orange County rally for 15,000 next week, has canceled her two-day swing through the Golden State, campaign sources said.  —  The change is a shocker …

Cafferty Mocks McCain: Is privatizing Social Security really a good idea?  —  Jack Cafferty is the only person I've seen on TV so far to make this incredibly important point: If George Bush and John McCain had their way with privatizing Social Security, millions of seniors would be totally screwed right now.

A New McCain on the Campaign Trail  —  VIENNA, Ohio — Senator John McCain's campaign events were once free-wheeling journeys marked by flashes of humor, candor and arch observations from the candidate about presidential politics — and John McCain.  Oh, and moments that left no doubt that Mr. McCain was not working from any script.

Supporting our troops  —  PERHAPS the most insidious byproduct of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has been a reflexive sanctification of the military.  To put this in bumper stickerese: Support the Troops.  —  Well, I have an ugly confession to make: I don't support the troops - at least not unconditionally.

CNN: Palin's suggested oil export ban ‘not exactly easy to understand.’  —  This afternoon on CNN, host Wolf Blitzer showed video from last night's townhall with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), in which Palin — whom McCain said “knows more about energy than …

Sen. Hagel doubts Palin's ready  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Wednesday became the nation's most prominent Republican officeholder to publicly question whether Sarah Palin has the experience to serve as president.  —  “She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials,” Hagel said in an interview.

Revolting: GM Executive Bob Lutz Denies Global Warming, Trashes His Company's Car  —  General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz, on the 100th anniversary of GM's founding, appeared on Stephen Colbert's show last night, and embarassed his company.  Lutz, unfortunately for this aging industrial giant …

State of the Race: Is McCain In Trouble?  —  One of the unpleasant things you discover when you sit in major league baseball press boxes from time to time is that the press — or at least the print media — actually do not like close baseball games.  A walk-off home run or a blown save means …