Poll: Obama Opens 14-Point Lead On McCain  —  CBS News/New York Times Survey Shows Major Swing Among Independents, Suggests McCain's Strategy May Be Hurting Him  —  (CBS) Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is entering the third and final presidential debate Wednesday with a wide lead …

Buckley Bows Out of National Review  —  Obama: Better to Be Lucky Than Smart by Tina Brown  —  Christopher Buckley, in an exclusive for The Daily Beast, explains why he left The National Review, the magazine his father founded.  —  I seem to have picked an apt title for my Daily Beast column …

An Unwitting Assist From the Hockey Mom  —  PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 13 The Hillary voter has come home.  —  It wasn't primarily the work of Hillary Clinton, though by her count she has made more than 50 public appearances for Barack Obama.  Nor was it the work of Obama, who has kept Clinton and her advisers at arm's length.

McCain Transition Chief Aided Saddam In Lobbying Effort  —  William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.

BREAKING: 6th Circuit reverses on TRO (devastation, humiliation for Jennifer Brunner)  —  A 3-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a temporary restraining order which would effectively make Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner follow the law - and do her job - in preventing election fraud.

Pinch Yourself  —  The contrast between, on the one hand, the huge amount of material about Obama's radical associations that has been published in on-line journals and in a few brave newspapers, and on the other the refusal by big media to address it and to vilify those who do, becomes more astounding by the day.

McCain's brother blasts campaign strategy  —  In e-mail statement, he calls on top aides to “Let John McCain be John McCain”  —  WASHINGTON - Frustrations inside John McCain's camp boiled over on the eve of Wednesday night's presidential debate as the candidate's brother unleashed …

McCain Campaign Sends Letter To YouTube Defending Fair Use  —  from the what-the...?  dept  —  This is impressive, and somewhat unexpected.  It's rather rare to see politicians (other than maginal ones, at least) showing any sort of recognition of fair use.

Rush Interviews Governor Sarah Palin  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen.  Rush Limbaugh and Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress by The Hollies taking us into our little chat here with Governor Sarah Palin, the vice presidential nominee for John McCain.

Obama's Abortion Extremism  —  Sen. Barack Obama's views on life issues ranging from abortion to embryonic stem cell research mark him as not merely a pro-choice politician, but rather as the most extreme pro-abortion candidate to have ever run on a major party ticket.

GOP ditches recruits to save incumbents  —  Darren White and Erik Paulsen were prized Republican recruits, House candidates poised to be the new face of the GOP on Capitol Hill.  —  But as the two head into the homestretch of their campaigns, GOP operatives say they'll probably have to win — or lose — on their own.

Obama drowning out McCain in TV ads  —  In the first three weeks of September, Barack Obama ran 1,342 television commercials in the Washington media market that reaches heavily populated and contested Northern Virginia.  —  According to The Nielsen Company, in the same period and market …

Will the Bradley Effect Be Obama's Downfall?  —  Worries Rise That Questions of Race Overstate Obama's 10-Point Lead  —  With the economic crisis center stage, Barack Obama has solidified his lead, pulling ahead of John McCain by 10 points among likely voters, 53-43 percent, in a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll.

In Support of Bill Ayers  —  There's a petition making the rounds that has academics purportedly defending Ayers against unrepentant terrorist and other (factual) labels.  It also has my name on it.  It has Jonah's name is on it.  And it includes others who you know obviously didn't sign it.

Harper heads for stronger minority  —  OTTAWA — Stephen Harper's Conservatives are headed to a larger minority government because of gains in Ontario, as results from tonight's federal election pour in.  —  Preliminary results show the Tories leading the Liberals in the key battleground of Ontario …

Bulls, Bears, Donkeys and Elephants  —  Since 1929, Republicans and Democrats have each controlled the presidency for nearly 40 years.  So which party has been better for American pocketbooks and capitalism as a whole?  Well, here's an experiment: imagine that during these years …

The Georgia surge continues  —  The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported recently on disproportionate early voting among African-Americans.  Georgia doesn't appear to be in play in the presidential election, but it tracks early votes contemporaneously (and online), so it may be a useful bellwether for what's happening elsewhere.

Essence of the “Rescue” Plan  —  The Wall Street Journal is reporting Paulson to Meet With U.S. Bank Chiefs. … Kashkari Gives ‘Comprehensive Update’ on Rescue Plan  —  Click here to see the full text of Kashkari speech on the bailout plan.  A few snips follow.