The Wright Stuff  —  I spoke on the phone Sunday with Sarah Palin, who was in Long Beach, Calif., preparing to take off on her next campaign trip.  It was the first time I'd talked with her since I met her in far more relaxed circumstances in Alaska over a year ago.

McCain blasts Obama, Democrats for Fannie Mae meltdown  —  We asked John McCain to take off the gloves — and he listened.  In remarks McCain will deliver today, he blasts Democrats, including Barack Obama, for their market manipulations and defense of Fannie Mae against regulator warnings.

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.

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 …

Lieberman: Palin Will Win “With God's Help”  —  Via CNN streaming video, I watched Sarah Palin's event in Clearwater, Florida, this morning.  She was heartily introduced there by John McCain's pal Joe Lieberman.  The former Democrat is a very strange figure these days, far from his moorings in the Democratic Party.

CNN Poll: Obama advantage grows  —  Likely voters nationwide:  —  Obama: 53 percent  —  McCain: 45 percent  —  NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - A new national poll suggests Barack Obama is widening his edge over John McCain in the race for the White House.

Treasury Officials  —  Neel Kashkari  —  Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economics and Development  —  Neel Kashkari was designated as the Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability on October 6, 2008.

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 …

Gallup Daily: Obama Leads 50% to 42%  —  Obama remains statistically ahead for tenth straight day  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama leads John McCain among registered voters across the country by a 50% to 42% margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Oct. 3-5, the tenth straight day in which Obama …

How did it all happen?  —  As I write this, the dow is down 430 points, below 10,000 for the first time in four years.  Tyler Cowen has published his list of what went wrong, with which I largely concur.  Another way to think about it is as a series of cognitive errors that afflicted everyone …

BACK TO THE DSM-IV  —  Did John McCain really just say that Barack Obama gets “touchy” and “angry” whenever he gets questioned on his credentials or policies?  I know that projection is a common psychological phenomenon, especially for those who find themselves in desperate situations.

Not Everyone Should Own a Home  —  Even without Fan and Fred, American mortgage rules are unusually lax.  —  Maybe only a friendly foreigner could say this.  But America needs to realize that not everyone can own a home.  The American Dream of home ownership for all is a fraud.

CNN RELIABLE SOURCES  —  Examining the Media and Coverage of Recent Stories  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  HOWARD KURTZ, HOST (voice-over): Palin and the pundits.  The media verdict: Sarah Palin did far better against Joe Biden than with Katie Couric.