Top Items:
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
McCain Wins Debate — Although the fate of tonight's presidential debate in Mississippi remains very much up in the air, John McCain has apparently already won it — if you believe an Internet ad an astute reader spotted next to this piece in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal this morning.
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The Huffington Post:
Ex-Adviser: McCain “Blinked,” Campaign “Governed By Tactics, Not Ideology” — Scroll down to see McCain ad... After days of saying that John McCain would not attend Friday's presidential debate unless an agreement on a bailout package for the markets was “locked-down,” the McCain campaign has gone back on its word.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, TPM Election Central, MyDD, The New Republic, Taylor Marsh, The Democratic Daily, All Spin Zone and Washington Monthly
The Politico:
McCain will go to debate — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ended three days of suspense on Friday morning and announced that he will leave bailout negotiations in Washington and fly to Oxford, Miss., for the opening presidential debate. — McCain had previously said that he would suspend …
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard: All-In in Oxford — Well, I confess I didn't think John McCain would debate tonight.
The Politico:
GOP concerned about Palin — A growing number of Republicans are expressing concern about Sarah Palin's uneven — and sometimes downright awkward — performances in her limited media appearances. — Conservative columnists Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says the vice presidential nominee should step aside.
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Kathleen Parker / National Review:
Palin Problem — If at one time women were considered heretical for swimming upstream against feminist orthodoxy, they now face condemnation for swimming downstream — away from Sarah Palin. — To express reservations about her qualifications to be vice president — and possibly president — is to risk being labeled anti-woman.
Discussion:
Colorado Independent, The World Newser, Gawker, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, pandagon.net, The Moderate Voice and Boston Globe
The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin's Beauty Pageant Swimsuit Competition Footage (VIDEO) — Sarah Palin's 1984 beauty pageant swimsuit competition video has hit the web. An Alaskan has uploaded what he claims to be 100% real footage of Sarah Palin in a red tank suit in the 1984 Miss Alaska contest.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Out Of Juneau — Yep: it's here. You have to endure this dude yammering on for a 50 seconds but after that, Sarah Heath, now known as Sarah Palin, takes the stage in the Miss Alaska Pageant:
Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report:
Video: Sarah Palin Swimsuit Competition
Video: Sarah Palin Swimsuit Competition
Discussion:
The Other McCain
John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO): McCain “stopped a deal” yesterday at the White House — House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) was just interviewed by Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, and he told Mitchell that McCain killed the deal yesterday at the White House:
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Natalie Gewargis / Political Punch:
The Role of John McCain in the Bailout Bill
The Role of John McCain in the Bailout Bill
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Washington Wire:
Ku Klux Klan Members Plan to Appear at Presidential Debate Site — Corey Dade reports from Oxford, Miss., on the presidential race. — When the University of Mississippi hosts the first presidential debate tonight, the two sides of its troubled racial history could converge.
Discussion:
Think Progress
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Amanda / Think Progress:
Bachmann Blames President Clinton, ‘Blacks,’ And ‘Other Minorities’ For Current Financial Crisis — Yesterday in a Senate hearing on the financial crisis, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) spoke on what caused the situation. To make her point, she read from an article called …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
National Review asks: Did WaMu fail because it employed minorities?
National Review asks: Did WaMu fail because it employed minorities?
Discussion:
The Corner, Seattle Times, Steve Sailer's iSteve Blog, StephenBainbridge.com, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, WaMu and Open Left
Judd Legum / The Huffington Post:
Ignore The Pundits: How To Figure Out Who Won The Debate — There were 23 debates during the Democratic primary and part of my job on the Hillary campaign was to monitor the post-debate reaction in the media. I watched hundreds of self-described political experts instantly declare who won and who lost.
Don Kaplan / New York Post:
MAD ABOUT LETTERMAN — MCCAIN VIDEO 'JACKED FROM KATIE — CBS News executives were red- faced yesterday trying to explain how David Letterman used unaired news footage of Sen. John McCain with Katie Couric to embarrass the Republican presidential candidate.
CNN:
Evangelist arrested in child porn case — (CNN) — Evangelist Tony Alamo was arrested Thursday in Flagstaff, Arizona, on charges related to a child porn investigation, an FBI spokesman said. — The 74-year-old founder and leader of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was arrested without incident at 2:45 p.m. …
Jim DeMint:
What Caused The Economic Crisis? Watch This! — Senator DeMint wanted to share this video on the federal bailout with you. Thanks for your support.
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
MSNBC Refusing To Run Outside Group's Ad Questioning McCain's Health — MSNBC has notified an independent group running an ad questioning John McCain's health that it will no longer air the spot, only a half day after Fox's Bill O'Reilly attacked NBC's corporate bosses on the air over the ad, the group tells me.
Jesse Walker / Reason:
Barack Obama vs. Free Speech — Here's an ad the National Rifle Association is running in Pennsylvania: — The Obama campaign disputes the accuracy of the advertisement, which is fine. It has also threatened regulatory retaliation against outlets that show it, which isn't fine.
CNN:
Kennedy headed home after brief hospitalization — (CNN) — Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy was hospitalized after a “mild seizure” Friday, his office announced. — Kennedy was taken to a Cape Cod hospital by a Fire Department rescue squad following a 911 call at around 5 p.m. Friday, a local police spokesman said Friday.
Marc Ambinder:
Obama Memo: We're Really, Really Bad At Debates... And John McCain is really good. — If it's 2pm the day of the debate, it must be an expectations-lowering memo. — Read it all after the jump.
Discussion:
Wake up America, FiveThirtyEight.com, Top of the Ticket, Sister Toldjah, Comments from Left Field, Commentary and Stumper