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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

U.S. Considers Cash Injections Into Banks  —  WASHINGTON — Having tried without success to unlock frozen credit markets, the Treasury Department is considering taking ownership stakes in many United States banks to try to restore confidence in the financial system, the White House said on Thursday.

McCain Campaign Tries To See Glass as Half Full  —  Behind in Polls, Republican Needs Momentum  —  It was a late night for John McCain's campaign — a post-debate repast of karaoke until the wee hours of the rain-soaked morning.  They sang neither in celebration nor to drown their sorrows.

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 …

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 …

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:

And McCain Is An Honorable Man I  —  McCain takes the Ayers attack to a new level:  —  Remember this.  And never forget what John McCain actually is.  He's telling us every day.

Gardener ordered to take down barbed wire fence ‘in case thieves hurt themselves on it’ … A gardener has been ordered by council chiefs to remove three foot high barbed wire ringing his allotment - in case thieves scratch themselves climbing over it.  —  Bill Malcolm, 61 …

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 …

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.

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.

In Manner, Obama Is Far From Clintonesque  —  CHICAGO — Though their politics have much in common, the man who aspires to be the next Democratic president could hardly seem more different than the last one in terms of temperament.  —  During the 1992 presidential race …