‘Substantive’ Press Is Taken for a Spin  —  OXFORD, Miss. — David Axelrod was surrounded by a pack of camera-toting, mike-wielding, pushing-and-shoving media types, one of whom asked whether his man Barack Obama had been “too nice” in the just-completed debate with John McCain.

Bailout plan rejected  —  House leaders scramble for support for controversial Wall Street plan.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The fate of the Bush administration's $700 billion financial bailout plan was abruptly thrown in doubt Monday as a House vote turned against the controversial measure.

Nancy Pelosi's bailout attack speech on the House floor  —  I noted it during my liveblog of the House debate.  Here's a video sample of her crap sandwich.  As I mentioned while it was happening, she received multiple rounds of applause on the floor before and after her spittle-flecked statement.

Gallup Daily: Obama Maintains 8-Point Lead  —  Registered voters prefer Obama to McCain, 50% to 42%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update, based on Sept. 26-28 polling, shows Barack Obama with a 50% to 42% lead over John McCain, unchanged from the prior report.

O'S DANGEROUS PALS  —  BARACK'S ‘ORGANIZER’ BUDS PUSHED FOR BAD MORTGAGES  —  WHAT exactly does a “community organizer” do?  Barack Obama's rise has left many Americans asking themselves that question.  Here's a big part of the answer: Community organizers intimidate banks into making high-risk loans to customers with poor credit.

Bailout questions answered  —  I'm being asked two big questions about this thing: (1) Was it really necessary?  (2) Shouldn't Dems have tossed the whole Paulson approach out the window and done something completely different?  —  On (1), the answer is yes.

Statement by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey on the Report of an Investigation into the Removal of Nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006  —  “I commend the hard work and collaboration of the Justice Department's Offices of Inspector General and Professional Responsibility on today's report concerning …

Obama sought rape victim for ad  —  Barack Obama's campaign earlier this month sought to find a rape victim to appear in a campaign commercial, according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.  —  Kiersten Steward, director of public policy at the Family Violence Prevention Fund …

McCain takes credit for bill before it loses  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his top aides took credit for building a winning bailout coalition - hours before the vote failed and stocks tanked.  —  The rush to claim he had engineered a victory now looks like a strategic blunder …

Breaking: Bailout bill fails, Dow roller-coasters; Update: Pelosi speech added  —  This has to be considered a shocker.  The bailout bill failed in the House, and it wasn't especially close.  The final tally was 207-226, with Democrats supporting it 141-94, while Republicans opposed it 66-132.

McCain's Moment  —  No one wants to take ownership of the task of rescuing the economy right now.  The Bush-Paulson plan has failed.  The administration, House Democrats, and House Republicans (above all) have all proved unable to deliver.  But there is someone who might be able to save the economy …

Chicago dive bar scores hit with nude Sarah Palin portrait  —  People are flocking to snap pictures of the latest tribute to Sarah Palin, a nude portrait depicting her in red stilettos and her trademark eyeglasses.  —  Brian Boyer  —  Artist Bruce Elliott says the hardest part was “getting the color right.”

The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore  —  Let me cut to the chase.  The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this.  Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken.

McCain's Share of The Blame?  —  Sen. John McCain and his campaign believe he ought to have gotten credit — some credit — for its passage.  —  McCain, today: … Said Steve Schmidt, McCain's chief strategist, on Meet the Press: … So if McCain wanted credit for passage, should he share some of the blame for its defeat?

Bailout follows the 10 normal principles for how our government functions  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  The word being used most frequently to describe the bailout package that is about to pass is “extraordinary.”  That adjective may apply to the amounts of money being transferred …