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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Poll: 60% say depression ‘likely’  —  Poll finds 6 of 10 believe a depression is somewhat or very likely - seeing 25% unemployed and millions homeless and hungry.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Nearly six out of ten Americans believe another economic depression is likely, according to a poll released Monday.

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 …

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 …

More Poll Posting - Obama May Be In Real Trouble If Polls Weight Samples Wrong  —  With Barack Obama pulling ahead in the polls, it seems a lot of us on the right are concerned about the validity of the message we are seeing.  I am still of the opinion something is wrong with the polls …

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!") …

A CAMPAIGN JOHN MCCAIN WILL REGRET.  —  Elections have life cycles.  They have beginnings, middles, and ends.  The beginnings tend to be exciting.  The middles tend to be exhausting.  And the ends tend to be ugly.  The ends are ugly because the candidates are desperate and their teams are scared.