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

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.

Democratic Congress May Adjourn, Leave Crisis to Fed, Treasury  —  Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — The Democratic-controlled Congress, acknowledging that it isn't equipped to lead the way to a solution for the financial crisis and can't agree on a path to follow, is likely to just get out of the way.

McCain on the Economy  —  In Iowa today, John McCain discussed the causes of the financial crisis in some detail, noted his history of calling for Fannie and Freddie reform, proposed some further moves (like the creation of a mortgage and financial institutions trust and, in classic McCain fashion …

Biden says McCain's economic answers go nowhere  —  CANTON, Ohio - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday called Republican John McCain's answers to the current economic crisis “the ultimate bridge to nowhere” and said that paying higher taxes would be patriotic for wealthier Americans.

Obama mocks McCain in Nevada stops  —  Barack Obama sharpened his attacks on John McCain and mocked the Republican's recent calls for reform in two stops in Nevada on Wednesday after days of listening to nervous supporters fret about the Democrat's chances of taking the White House.

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 …

Palin Unscripted  —  Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain held a town-hall-style meeting Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Photo: Todd Heisler/The New York Times)  —  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - As she took questions from voters for the first time since she was tapped as Senator John McCain's running mate …

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 …

McCain aides: Obama ‘cheerleading’ market crisis  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Top aides to Republian John McCain are claiming Democrat Barack Obama and his advisers are exploiting Wall Street's financial problems for political gain.  —  Aide Steve Schmidt, who worked for the Bush-Cheney team in 2004 …

McCain's Closing Argument  —  Man is in love and loves what vanishes.  —  What more is there to say?  —  Conservatives, who reputedly have lumps of coal where their hearts should be, have fallen in love.  So have many people who are not doctrinal conservatives.

FIRST THOUGHTS: BACK TO AUGUST?  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann  —  *** We're back to August?  This presidential contest has certainly been a roller-coaster ride.  And as we suggested yesterday, something in the race turned this week.

You're decent, but just confused and stupid.  —  Good morning, hillbilly mouth-breathers!  How are we today?  Did we put our shoes on the correct feet and wipe all the drool off our faces before heading outside to plant turnips and whup our kids?  Good, good.  —  Now go find a Democrat to help you read the rest of this post.

Microsoft announcement tomorrow: No more Seinfeld ads!  —  Remember those awful Microsoft ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates?  Well, now you can forget them.  Microsoft flacks are desperately dialing reporters to spin them about “phase two” of the ad campaign — a phase …