VIDEO: The McCain-Palin mob in Strongsville, Ohio  —  UPDATE - THANK KOS & WONKETTE & DIGG!!  Please donate to keep my camera charged and the gas tank filled for more Ohio fun!  —  It's no wonder that the slightest incitement from Sarah Palin or John McCain will turn one of their rallies into a lynch mob.

Exclusive: Inside Account of US Eavesdropping on Americans  —  US Officer's “Phone Sex” Intercepted, Recorded, Shared Across NSA Listening Post  —  Despite pledges by President George W. Bush and American intelligence officials to the contrary, hundreds of US citizens overseas have been eavesdropped …

USA TODAY/Gallup Poll signals that debate boosted Obama, not McCain  —  Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama convinced many more viewers to think more favorably of him during Tuesday night's presidential debate than did his Republican opponent, John McCain, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll signals.

Stevens prosecutors end case with new witness  —  WASHINGTON - An unexpected final prosecution witness took the stand Thursday morning in Sen. Ted Stevens' corruption trial, bringing to an end the government case against the Alaska Republican.  —  The judge decided to allow prosecutors …

Dem strategists see landslide in the making  —  Three weeks of historic economic upheaval has done more than just tilt a handful of once-reliably Republican states in Barack Obama's direction.  Democratic strategists are now optimistic that the ongoing crisis could lead to a landslide Obama victory.

At the Craps Tables With John McCain  —  Welcome to The Daily Beast: A Q&A with Tina Brown  —  How the Senator Lost it at a Puerto Rican Casino  —  For this entire presidential campaign, the media have been waiting for John McCain's famous temper to explode.

NUTS!  —  HOW ACORN GOT ME INTO VOTE SCAM  —  CLEVELAND - Two Ohio voters, including Domino's pizza worker Christopher Barkley , claimed yesterday that they were hounded by the community-activist group ACORN to register to vote several times, even though they made it clear they'd already signed up.

Todd Palin campaigned years to get trooper fired  —  SWORN STATEMENT: He says he wanted to protect his family.  —  bwhite@adn.com  —  Todd Palin talked with over a dozen state officials, many of them repeatedly, in his crusade to get a state trooper fired whom he considered to be a bad cop …

States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal  —  Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times.

The Birth Of Trig  —  For the record, two contemporary accounts: here and here from the local media of last April 18.  Despite all this publicity, the Palins didn't want their child to be included in the hospital website's list.  Privacy?  Oversight?  Accident?  Oh, and in response to some readers:

Obama as “terrorist”  —  A sad video taken by an Obama backer outside a McCain visit yesterday in Ohio featuring Republicans saying Obama is “a terrorist,” among other things.  —  Party activists of the sort who show up at rallies always tend to be more partisan, but it's difficult to imagine …

McCain in a Bear Market  —  Time was, the Baltimore Orioles' manager was Earl Weaver, a short, irascible, Napoleonic figure who, when cranky, as he frequently was, would shout at an umpire, “Are you going to get any better or is this it?”  With, mercifully, only one debate to go, that is the question about John McCain's campaign.

Obama, McCain Transition Efforts Are Worlds Apart  —  As the 2008 campaign nears its conclusion, the presidential transition efforts of the two major candidates have become a study in contrasts: Sen. Barack Obama has organized an elaborate well-staffed network to prepare for his possible ascension …

The Bridge To Nowhere Lie Returns: McCain Claims Palin ‘Stood Up Against’ The Project  —  After the talking point was thoroughly debunked, the McCain campaign slowly backed away from the claim that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said “thank but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere.

How authorization to recapitalize banks via public capital injections ("partial nationalization") was introduced - indirectly through the back door - into the TARP legislation  —  Delicious Digg Facebook reddit Technorati  —  Nouriel Roubini  —  For a number of weeks professional economists …

Schmidt's Opening?  —  John Heilemann on how McCain lost his brand: … I don't buy this any more.  I've come to the sad conclusion that McCain's brand was just that.  His real core is about power and ambition, divorced, when necessary, from principle or patriotism.

A Question for Sarah Palin  —  Sarah Palin faced a variety of questions at last week's debate, but not the one I would have asked: “Should public school students be taught that contraception and condoms can prevent unintended pregnancy and disease?”  —  Palin has referred to her teenage …

CAN DEMOCRATS ACTUALLY GET TO 60 IN THE SENATE?  —  It's gotten a bit less attention than the shifting momentum at the presidential level, but in the last few weeks, the outlook for Democrats in the Senate has brightened considerably.  With Norm Coleman now a likely loser …

BAITING MCCAIN.... One almost gets the sense that Barack Obama wants John McCain to confront him directly with some of these guilt-by-association attacks.  ABC's Charlie Gibson sat down with Obama yesterday, and asked whether he was surprised that McCain didn't go in this direction during Tuesday's debate.

STATEHOUSE '08 UPDATE  —  There are just eleven governorships up for grabs from coast to coast, six currently held the Democrats and five by the Republicans:  —  State Incumbent Last Election Percentage Candidacy Status Dem.  Nominee GOP Nominee  —  Delaware  —  Ruth Minner  —  Term limited

Frank-Dodd 2008!  —  Here is what is wrong with McCain's new housing proposal: It can't improve on current law without rewarding an unacceptable amount of bad behavior.  —  Under the Frank-Dodd housing bill that was signed into law last summer, borrowers qualify for a federally subsidized workout …