Linguist: Palin spoke at higher level than Biden did  —  (CNN) — An analysis carried out by a language monitoring service said Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at a more than ninth-grade level and Sen. Joseph Biden spoke at a nearly eighth-grade level in Thursday night's debate between the vice presidential candidates.

McCain Plans Fiercer Strategy Against Obama  —  Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment …

GOP Strategists Whisper Fears Of Greater Losses in November  —  With the party already struggling to generate enthusiasm for its brand, Republican strategists fear that an outpouring of public anger generated by Congress's struggle to pass a rescue package for the financial industry may contribute …

Obama and '60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths  —  CHICAGO — At a tumultuous meeting of anti-Vietnam War militants at the Chicago Coliseum in 1969, Bill Ayers helped found the radical Weathermen, launching a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and United States Capitol.

Do Over!  Palin Answers Katie Couric's Questions ... to Fox News' Carl Cameron (She Reads The Economist, She Says)  —  In a post-debate interview today with Fox News' chief political correspondent Carl Cameron, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin provided some of the answers that seemed to elude her in her past interview with Katie Couric.

O.J. Simpson guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping  —  LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) — Former gridiron great O.J. Simpson was found guilty Friday of all 12 counts in the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas, Nevada, casino hotel last year.

What's The Matter With Harry?  —  One of the more curious — but not unprecedented — incidents in the last couple of weeks involved Harry Reid.  The Wall Street Journal explains: … But this wasn't the only such incident: … All of this raises the question: are they trying …

Lawmaker Accused of Fannie Mae Conflict of Interest  —  Unqualified home buyers were not the only ones who benefitted from Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank's efforts to deregulate Fannie Mae throughout the 1990s.  —  So did Frank's partner, a Fannie Mae executive at the forefront of the agency's push to relax lending restrictions.

Michigan Republicans oppose McCain pullout  —  In the aftermath of John McCain's decision to pull out of Michigan, Republicans in the state are expressing shock and bewilderment at his move—and aren't willing to cede the state's 17 electoral votes just yet.

AP Goes Neo-Con  —  OK, al-P and reasonable people might dispute that.  —  But try as it might to discuss where we are five years on without giving Bush any props, the Associated Press has to admit that we have some leverage, and a substantial national interest, at stake in that nascent democracy won …

The Problem Is Still Falling House Prices  —  The bailout bill doesn't get at the root of the credit crunch.  —  A successful plan to stabilize the U.S. economy and prevent a deep global recession must do more than buy back impaired debt from financial institutions.

In Florida's Economic Pain, Obama Gains Ground  —  NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Jim Piccillo lost his job as a bank vice president in August, applied for food stamps to support his two young daughters and swore off a life of loyalty to the Republican Party.  He now volunteers here in Pasco County for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

Obama: McCain health plan ‘radical’  —  With families increasingly worried about their economic security, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is opening a major assault on what he charges is a “radical plan” by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to decentralize health insurance.

12 Reasons Why McCain Can Still Win  —  Alaska Governor Sarah Palin discussing when she would deploy “nucular weaponry,” the “be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet,” as she put it in last night's vice presidential debate.  She never actually answers the question.

For Treasury Dept., Now Comes Hard Part of Bailout  —  WASHINGTON — It will be one of the world's largest asset management firms with an impressive $700 billion war chest.  Nothing short of the global economy depends on its success.  And the Treasury Department has barely a month to get it up and running.

That rubbish they talk about the credit crunch  —  Capitalism is dead.  America has gone socialist.  US leadership has collapsed.  Europe has shown the way.  Oh yes?  —  Gerard Baker  —  There's something curious about the human imagination.  Confronted with unprecedented events …

Record Refutes Palin's Sudan Claim  —  Palin Administration Against Sudan Divestment Before It Was For It, Documents Show  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin fought to protest atrocities in Sudan by dropping assets tied to the country's brutal regime from the state's multi-billion-dollar investment fund …

US cuts funding for condoms in Marie Stopes' African clinics  —  The US government is cutting its funding for the supply of contraceptives to family planning clinics run by Marie Stopes International in Africa, alleging that it condones forced abortions in China.