In Fla., Palin Goes for the Rough Stuff as Audience Boos Obama  —  Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gestures during a campaign speech on Oct. 6, 2008 in Clearwater, Fla. (Chris O'Meara/Associated Press)  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — “Okay, so Florida, you know that you're going to have to hang onto your hats …

McCain, Obama deal puts limits on “town hall” debate  —  WASHINGTON — Barack Obama and John McCain meet for a second debate Tuesday night with a “town hall” format, but a deal made between the camps limits the interaction the candidates will have with the undecided voters in the pool of questioners.

Post-Debate: Palin Still Seen as Unqualified, a Bump for Biden  —  Continued Doubts About Financial Bailout  —  While last week's vice-presidential debate had a larger audience than any other in history, voters' impressions of Sarah Palin have changed little.

CBS Poll: Presidential Race Tightens  —  Survey Shows Obama Leading McCain 47 Percent To 43 Percent Among Registered Voters Nationwide Following V.P. Debate  —  (CBS) In a sign that the race for president has returned to about where it was before the first presidential debate …

More Bogus Obama Donors Surface  —  Donations Made Between July and Early August  —  (CBS) CBS News Investigative Producer Laura Strickler wrote this story for CBSNews.com with additional reporting from Sarah Fitzpatrick and Ariel Bashi.  —  CBS News has learned that two donors …

The Ayers Question  —  Very soon after she was picked to be McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin was attacked by Obama campaign spokesmen and a Democratic member of Congress for once being seen wearing a Pat Buchanan button.  She had an answer and the campaign offered it.

Health Care Destruction  —  Sarah Palin ended her debate performance last Thursday with a slightly garbled quote from Ronald Reagan about how, if we aren't vigilant, we'll end up “telling our children and our children's children” about the days when America was free.  It was a revealing choice.

U.S. Treasury's Kashkari to Lead Bank Bailout Office  —  Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Treasury will name Neel Kashkari, assistant secretary at the department, to run the $700 billion Wall Street rescue program on an interim basis, according to a Treasury official.

Obama offers best way out of economic disarray  —  From Hugh McColl Jr., former chairman and CEO of Bank of America:  —  In 49 years of living in Charlotte, I've seldom offered my opinion in writing and never submitted a piece such as this.  The condition of our country compels me.

Press kept under a watchful eye  —  CLEARWATER — Constantly under the watchful eyes of security, the media wasn't permitted to wander around inside Coachman Park to talk to Sarah Palin supporters.  When reporters tried to leave the designated press area and head toward the bleachers …

Engaging on Keating  —  I'd always thought McCain's great strength in defending the Keating affair was that he'd acknolwedged making a huge mistake, and spent his career repenting by recasting himself as a reformer.  —  So when his campaign puts his lawyer on the line with reporters to contest …

Sarah's Doodles  —  On a recent reporting trip to Alaska, TNR senior editor Noam Scheiber came across a piece of paper from an old Wasilla city budget, on the back of which Palin doodled and brainstormed her potential mayoral campaign themes ("time for a change," “you would be my boss!") …

Embarracuda  —  I'm of two minds about how to deal with the McCain campaign's further descent into ugliness.  Their strategy is simple: you throw crap against a wall and then giggle as the media try to analyze the putresence in a way that conveys a sense of balance: “Well, it is bull-pucky …