In Dozens of Calls, Palins and Aides Pressed for Trooper's Removal  —  ANCHORAGE — The 2007 state fair was days away when Alaska's public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, took another call about one of his troopers, Michael Wooten.  This time, the director of Gov. Sarah Palin's Anchorage office was on the line.

Obama on Ayers: ‘I assumed that he had been rehabilitated’  —  In an interview with the sympathetic conservative talk radio host this afternoon, Obama offered the clearest explanation yet of how an extremely careful politician allowed himself anywhere near a former '60s radical who would become …

McCain Co-Chair Calls Obama “A Guy Of The Street,” Raises Drug Use  —  Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, a McCain campaign co-chairman, edged up to an explicitly racial attack on Barack Obama on Thursday, describing the Illinois Senator as a “guy of the street” before raising his youthful drug use.

Moment of Truth  —  Last month, when the U.S. Treasury Department allowed Lehman Brothers to fail, I wrote that Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, was playing financial Russian roulette.  Sure enough, there was a bullet in that chamber: Lehman's failure caused the world financial crisis, already severe, to get much, much worse.

Anger Is Crowd's Overarching Emotion at McCain Rally  —  There were shouts of “Nobama” and “Socialist” at the mention of the Democratic presidential nominee.  There were boos, middle fingers turned up and thumbs turned down as a media caravan moved through the crowd Thursday …

Obama buys half-hour of network primetime  —  Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour of primetime television on CBS and NBC, sources confirm.  —  The Obama campaign is producing a nationwide pitch to voters that will air on at least two broadcast networks.

Judge rules Ohio Secretary of State violated federal election law; plus ACORN victim on tape  —  Well, there's news breaking tonight — and it's good news for election integrity.  A federal district court judge has found Democrat Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner guilty of violating federal election laws.

Iceland is all but officially bankrupt  —  REYKJAVIK: People go bankrupt all the time.  Companies do, too.  But countries?  —  Iceland was on the verge of doing exactly that on Thursday as the government shut down the stock market and seized control of its last major independent bank.

The world is at severe risk of a global systemic financial meltdown and a severe global depression  —  The US and advanced economies' financial system is now headed towards a near-term systemic financial meltdown as day after day stock markets are in free fall, money markets have shut …

For Republicans, Another Blood Bath Looms on Horizon  —  I've seen this movie before, and I know how it ends.  Republican candidates from presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) down to Congressional hopefuls have less than four weeks to figure out how to avert a repeat of 2006.

Meet Sarah Palin's radical right-wing pals  —  Extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll helped launch Palin's political career in Alaska, and in return had influence over policy.  “Her door was open,” says Chryson — and still is. … Video: Interview with former Alaskan Independence Party chairman Mark Chryson

Hispanics turn cold shoulder to McCain  —  Despite championing immigration reform in 2007, John McCain is poised to lose the Hispanic vote by a landslide margin that is well below President George W. Bush's 2004 performance.  —  Polls show Obama winning the broadest support from Latino voters …

Exclusive: Inside Account of U.S. Eavesdropping on Americans  —  U.S. Officers' “Phone Sex” Intercepted, Recorded, Shared Across NSA Listening Post  —  US Soldier's ‘Phone Sex’ Intercepted, Shared  —  Faulk says he and others in his section of the NSA facility at Fort Gordon routinely shared salacious …

QUESTIONER: ‘I ACTUALLY DID’ KNOW FANNIE  —  From NBC's Michael Levine  —  I tried to get in touch via Facebook with Oliver Clark, the man who McCain said probably didn't know what Fannie Mae was before the financial crisis (at Tuesday's debate).  Apparently others have done the same.

Who is Barack Obama?  Part II  —  Following the links on John Hinderaker's post on Obama's apparent affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America/New Party leads you to DSA newsletters that make several references to Obama between 1995—2004.  According to the newsletters:

Is John McCain's Homeowner Resurgence Plan legal?  —  Folks who are much more savvy on the specifics of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) wonder whether the government's $700 billion bailout/rescue program expressly prohibits what John McCain now says he wants to do …

ACORN Files Voting Rights Suit on Behalf of Imaginary-Americans  —  ST. LOUIS - Attorneys for the voting registration organizations ACORN and Project Vote filed an anti-discrimination voting rights suit in the U.S. Federal District court this morning, alleging the United States government is involved in …