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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

Todd Palin campaigned years for firing trooper  —  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 …

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:

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Obama's Race May Be as Much a Plus as a Minus  —  Not much different from the impact of McCain's race  —  PRINCETON, NJ — While 6% of voters say they are less likely to vote for Barack Obama because of his race, 9% say they are more likely to vote for him, making the impact of his race …

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.

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.

Soviet document shows Biden sold out human-rights concerns  —  According to internal Soviet Union documents from the SALT-2 negotiations in 1979, Joe Biden effectively told Soviet negotiators not to worry about American rhetoric about human-rights concerns.  In fact, Biden also told the Soviets …

McCain calls for Obama to retract ‘air-raiding’ comment, despite making identical comments in 2000.  —  In August 2007, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) remarked that the war in Afghanistan “requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians.”

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 …

From Outsider To Politician  —  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. The taunting began as soon as Barack Obama joined the Illinois Senate in January 1997.  He had expected to face some skepticism as a political neophyte, but not such outright hostility.  For the first few months of his career as a lawmaker …

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.