Palin Camp Goes To New Lengths To Shut Out Media  —  From CBS News' Scott Conroy:  —  (NEW YORK) Update: After media outlets complained to the McCain/Palin campaign about its attempt to prevent an editorial presence at Gov. Palin's first meeting of the day, a pool producer was allowed …

Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools  —  Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience.  From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001.

Biden: ‘No coal plants here in America’  —  Some great rope line video from Joe Biden's recent Ohio swing, where he was asked by an anti-pollution campaigner about clean coal — a controversial approach in Democratic circles for which Obama has voiced support, particularly during the Kentucky primary.

Biden garbles Depression history  —  Joe Biden's denunciation of his own campaign's ad to Katie Couric got so much attention last night that another odd note in the interview slipped by.  —  He was speaking about the role of the White House in a financial crisis.

Getting real — and letting the cat out of the bag  —  Whoa — it seems that Ben Bernanke ditched his prepared testimony and, instead, let the cat at least partly out of the bag. … As I wrote earlier this morning, the whole “take these assets off the balance sheets” line is fundamentally disingenuous …

Paulson: I Didn't Suggest Oversight In The Bailout Plan Because That Would Be ‘Presumptuous’  —  This morning, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the current financial crisis.  Nearly every senator on the panel criticized the $700 billion bailout …

Maliki: Bush Tried To Delay U.S. Withdrawal To Help McCain  —  In an al-Iraqiya interview on September 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki discussed the state of negotiations between the U.S. and Iraqi governments regarding the eventual withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq.

CEO murdered by mob of sacked Indian workers  —  Corporate India is in shock after a mob of sacked workers bludgeoned to death the chief executive who had dismissed them from a factory in a suburb of Delhi.  —  Lalit Kishore Choudhary, 47, the head of the Indian operations of Graziano Transmissioni …

Close Contests in Four Key States:  —  The presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama in four key battleground states remains remarkably stable despite a month of politically significant developments, with the Illinois senator running ahead of or even with his Republican rival according …

Blame Fannie Mae and Congress For the Credit Mess  —  Many monumental errors and misjudgments contributed to the acute financial turmoil in which we now find ourselves.  Nevertheless, the vast accumulation of toxic mortgage debt that poisoned the global financial system was driven …

The Establishment Lives!  —  Once, there was a financial elite in this country.  During the first two-thirds of the 20th century, middle-aged men with names like Mellon and McCloy led Wall Street firms, corporate boards and white-shoe law firms and occasionally emerged to serve in government.

Not a surrogate  —  I'd missed “The View” yesterday, but watching now, it's striking how one of the world's great's political salesman is acting as an analyst, and not a surrogate, when it comes to this race, and making no real effort to boost Obama.

Colorado Poll  —  Barack Obama 51  —  John McCain 44  —  Sarah Palin's popularity with Colorado voters over the last couple weeks has plummeted, and as it has Barack Obama has opened up his biggest lead yet in a PPP survey of the state.  —  Immediately after the Republican convention 41% …

Racism and the Race  —  The race boils down to racism.  All things being equal, Barack Obama would win the presidency hands down.  —  Unemployment is at a five-year high.  —  Wages are shrinking.  —  The stock market is in the doldrums.  —  The home foreclosure crisis has shattered the dreams of millions of Americans.