Analysis: Palin's words carry racial tinge … WASHINGTON (AP) - By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is “palling around with terrorists” and doesn't see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.

Minnesota Poll: Obama leaps ahead of McCain  —  The Democrat's lead in the state is tied to the economy, the debate and new party strength.  —  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has opened up a commanding lead in Minnesota over Republican John McCain, according to a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll.

War on Taliban cannot be won, says army chief  —  Britain's most senior military commander in Afghanistan has warned that the war against the Taliban cannot be won.  Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said the British public should not expect a “decisive military victory” but should be prepared for a possible deal with the Taliban.

Frank talk of Obama and race in Virginia  —  As Obama supporters push to win the dead-even battleground state, they are talking directly about race, betting that the best way to put neighbors at ease is to open up.  —  WHITEWOOD, VA. — The isolated towns of Virginia's Appalachian coal region …

Hilarious Example of Media Bias  —  You've got to watch this video.  CNN's Soledad O' Brien ran a focus group of self declared Republicans, Democrats and undecideds during the Palin/Biden debate.  —  Soledad asked them immediately after the debate, “How many thought Joe Biden won the debate tonight?”

Poll: Palin more likeable, but Obama/Biden gets the votes  —  WASHINGTON — Undecided voters who watched Thursday's vice presidential debate really like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin but they're not certain she's ready to lead the country, according to the findings of a new Ipsos/McClatchy online poll.

Obama clinches on Rove map  —  With 30 days until Nov. 4, Karl Rove projects that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) would get at least 273 electoral votes - three more than are needed to win - if the presidential election were held today.  —  But Rove warns that this race is “susceptible to rapid changes …

Ifill: Palin ‘blew me off’ during the debate.  —  During the vice presidential debate on Thursday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced that she “may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear.”  In fact, “On at least 10 occasions, Palin gave answers that were nonspecific …

Obama's ‘Good Will’ Hunting  —  From the magazine issue dated Oct 13, 2008  —  The Obama campaign has shattered all fund-raising records, raking in $458 million so far, with about half the bounty coming from donors who contribute $200 or less.  Aides say that's an illustration of a truly democratic campaign.

Palin Misquotes Albright: “Place In Hell Reserved For Women Who Don't Support Other Women”  —  At a rally today in California, Gov. Sarah Palin offered up a rather jarring argument for supporting the Republican ticket.  “There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't support other women …

A shot across the bows  —  Paul Begala, in a shot on Meet the Press that sounds like something other than an offhand remark, suggests an Obama comeback to an expected McCain ad blitz on the Ayers relationship. … The guilt-by-association attacks on Obama are as much about tapping into a range …

Porn producer invokes the Bush/Yoo defense — unsuccessfully  —  On Friday in Tampa, Florida, Paul F. Little was sentenced by a federal judge to 3 years and 10 months in a federal prison after being convicted of the grave and terrible crime of distributing pornography “over the Internet and through the mail” …

When Michelle Met Barack  —  How romance in the sedate corridors of a corporate law firm changed everything for the woman who might become the country's first African American first lady  —  In the summer of 1989, Michelle Robinson told her mother she was going to concentrate on her law career and not worry about dating.