U.S. Drafts Sweeping Plan to Fight Crisis As Turmoil Worsens in Credit Markets  —  Paulson Briefs Congress on Idea to Buy Bad Assets From Banks, Insure Money-Market Funds; Stocks Rebound Sharply  —  WASHINGTON — The federal government is working on a sweeping series of programs …

‘Always for Less Regulation’?  —  TO LISTEN to Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain is a Johnny-come-lately to the cause of regulating financial markets.  “He has consistently opposed the sorts of common-sense regulations that might have lessened the current crisis,” Mr. Obama said in New Mexico yesterday.

Where Next for the Dollar?  18 Sep 2008  —  Is the U.S. government's proposal to take on bad bank assets a good move?  Sharada Selvanathan, currency strategist at BNP Paribas gives her take on how this will affect the dollar, with CNBC's Maura Fogarty & Stephen Sedgwick.

What's on the desk  —  In a picture supplied by Sarah Palin's family to the Associated Press, Palin appears with some rather odd reading matter: The magazine of the ultraconservative John Birch Society.  —  The picture, dating to 1995, when Palin was a member of the Wasilla City Council …

Learn How to Get Real-Time Quotes on Your Mobile Device  —  Bad Debt Plan May Cost Up to Half a Trillion Dollars  —  Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson briefed Congressional leaders on plans to address the “illiquid assets” on U.S. financial institutions' balance sheets, possibly including …

Poll: GOP brand making comeback  —  New polling suggests that the Republican Party is beginning to regain some of its luster and, perhaps as important, is experiencing a surge in excitement among its political base.  —  A new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reports …

Hacker wanted to ‘derail’ Palin  —  Found ‘nothing incriminating’ in candidate's private e-mail  —  A person taking credit for hacking into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's personal Yahoo account claims to have read the Republican vice-presidential candidate's e-mails to find something that …

Obama Is Stoking Racial Antagonism  —  I understand the rough and tumble of politics.  But Barack Obama — the supposedly postpartisan, postracial candidate of hope and change — has gone where few modern candidates have gone before.  —  Mr. Obama's campaign is now trafficking in prejudice of its own making.

Why It's Getting Mean  —  The financial crisis changes the entire shape and feel of the presidential election.  It isn't just bad news, it's bad news that reveals what many people deep down feared, and hoped not to see revealed: that the huge and sprawling financial system of Wall Street …

President Bush goes AWOL  —  Where's George?  The president, I mean.  —  You remember him.  Dubya.  No. 43.  Won a second term a few years ago.  It was in all the papers.  —  But where has he been lately?  Where has he been during America's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression?

KEITH OLBERMANN: I happend to catch the very beginning of “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann.  His lead story was on John McCain's statement that if he were President he would “fire” Chris Cox as Chairman of the SEC, explaining that the Chairman of the SEC is appointed by and serves at the will of the President.

TOW-NAILING CHARLIE ‘PARKER’  —  BENZ HAULED OFF AS POLS BID TO TAKE HIS COMMITTEE SPOT  —  WASHINGTON - Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel's Mercedes-Benz was towed yesterday from the House of Representatives parking space he had been using for years in violation of congressional rules.

Campaign Lies, Media Double Standards  —  I NO LONGER TRUST THE MAJOR NEWSPAPERS OR TELEVISION NETWORKS TO PROVIDE CONSISTENTLY ACCURATE AND FAIR REPORTING AND ANALYSIS OF ALL THE CHARGES AND COUNTERCHARGES.  —  Some who have been admirers of John McCain think that the war hero has debased himself …

Palin Pick Puts Many Women on the Verge  —  Senator McCain's selection of Governor Palin of Alaska as his running mate, which was hailed in some quarters and met with skepticism in others, is sparking intense reactions from some New Yorkers, who report being driven to fits of rage and even all-consuming panic.

Todd Palin refuses to testify in probe  —  Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, and a key lawmaker said today that uncooperative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day.