John Lewis, invoking George Wallace, says McCain and Palin ‘playing with fire’  —  UPDATED WITH MCCAIN STATEMENT AND OBAMA REACTION  —  Civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis is accusing John McCain and Sarah Palin of stoking hate, likening the atmosphere at Republican campaign events …

John McCain: Davenport Liveblog  —  Why is John McCain in Iowa when polls show him trailing?  Will he again defend his opponent Barack Obama from personal attacks as he did Friday?  What is his response to an Alaska legislative report charging his running mate Sarah Palin with abuse of power?

Private sector loans, not Fannie or Freddie, triggered crisis  —  WASHINGTON — As the economy worsens and Election Day approaches, a conservative campaign that blames the global financial crisis on a government push to make housing more affordable to lower-class Americans has taken off on talk radio and e-mail.

The Boo Birds  —  So, how did Philadelphia Flyers fans greet Sarah Palin, who was on hand tonight for the ceremonial puck-drop?  —  Watching on Comcast, it seemed like there was an avalanche of boos when she walked out — boos that were almost immediately drowned out by blaring, bombastic music.

This could be the game changer  —  Someone with the unlikely name of Molotov Mitchell has produced a 10 minute and 52 second video [watch it below] that could well change the terms of the election — if enough people watch it.  Illuminati Productions has posted it to YouTube.

Concern in G.O.P. After Rough Week for McCain  —  After a turbulent week that included new disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin and signs that Senator John McCain was struggling to strike the right tone for his campaign, Republican leaders said Saturday they were worried that Mr. McCain was heading …

Did Obama Write “Dreams from My Father” ... Or Did Ayers?  —  There has been speculation about this which I've ignored, no doubt because there are enough policy reasons to oppose Barack Obama and I don't want to feed into what sounds, at first blush, like Vince Fosteresque paranoia.

Biden to Palin: Don't lecture me on patriotism  —  JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (CNN) - Joe Biden Thursday night told Sarah Palin not to lecture him on patriotism, after weeks of attacks mocking him for his statement the wealthy should be patriotic and pay higher taxes because not enough has been asked of them.

Man At Palin Rally Displays Monkey Doll Donning Obama Sticker  —  From CBS News' Scott Conroy:  —  (PHILADELPHIA) As the crowd cheered at a Sarah Palin rally this morning in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a man in the audience grinned as he held up a stuffed monkey doll with a Barack Obama bumper sticker wrapped across its forehead.

Gallup Daily: Obama Ahead by 9 Points  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Oct. 8-10 finds Barack Obama holding a sizeable lead over John McCain in national voter preferences, as he has continuously for the past six days.  Today's report puts Obama ahead by nine percentage points, 51% to 42%.

‘The United States Has Essentially a One-Party System’  —  The linguist and public intellectual Noam Chomsky has long been a critic of American consumerism and imperialism.  SPIEGEL spoke to him about the current crisis of capitalism, Barack Obama's rhetoric and the compliance of the intellectual class.

Palin heightens rhetoric on abortion  —  JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin charged into the culture wars Saturday in Pennsylvania, painting Sen. Barack Obama as a radical on abortion rights.  —  The stop comes amid news that Palin violated Alaska ethics law by trying …

The Coming Obama Thugocracy  —  A Commentary by Michael Barone  —  “I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors,” Barack Obama told a crowd in Elko, Nev. “I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican.

Nutroots use my SAT scoresheet to forge ‘Palin Grades’  —  Gawker—the same online rag that called me a “Crazed Christ-Loving Re-Virgin”—is engaging in some craziness of its own: It's asking readers to judge the validity of what it says may be “Sarah Palin's High-School Grades” …

Report: McCain, Palin at odds over how hard to hit Obama  —  It's too thinly sourced to be taken very seriously, but since our readership revels in the idea of the 'Cuda being the scrapper to McCain's squish, I figured you'd dig it.  —  The bit about Mark Salter does strike me as plausible.

White House Overhauling Rescue Plan  —  WASHINGTON — As international leaders gathered here on Saturday to grapple with the global financial crisis, the Bush administration embarked on an overhaul of its own strategy for rescuing the foundering financial system.