Top Items:
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
CBS Poll: Uncommitted Voters Say Obama Won Final Debate — As in the previous debates, CBS News and Knowledge Networks have conducted a nationally representative poll of uncommitted voters to get their immediate reaction to tonight's presidential debate. — In the first presidential debate …
Discussion:
Open Left, The Swamp, The Moderate Voice, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Washington Post, The Anonymous Liberal, FiveThirtyEight.com, Politics in the Zeros …, TalkLeft, TPM Election Central, Take Our Country Back, Raising Kaine, Oliver Willis, The Jed Report, Taylor Marsh, TIME.com, Salon, War and Piece, BobGeiger.com and BeltwayBlips
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CNN:
Poll: Debate watchers say Obama wins — HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) — A majority of debate watchers thought that Sen. Barack Obama won the third and final presidential debate, according to a national poll conducted at the end of the debate. — Fifty-eight percent of debate watchers questioned …
CNN:
McCain, Obama go head to head in last debate — HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) — Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Democrat Sen. Barack Obama faced off at Hofstra University Wednesday night in their last debate before Election Day. Bob Schieffer of CBS was the moderator.
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
The Final Presidential Debate: First Thoughts and Who Won? — The final debate may not have contained any knockout punches, but it was perhaps the most spirited of the three. (CHARLES DHARAPAK/AFP/Getty Images) — The debates of the 2008 presidential election are now over …
The New / The Caucus:
First Impressions on the Last Debate — There are probably going to be a lot of Republicans who wished that Senator John McCain had come out so intensely against Senator Barack Obama at the first debate - - including, it seems a fair-guess, his running-mate Gov. Sarah Palin.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Washington Wire:
Who Will Joe Plumber Vote For? — Susan Davis reports on the presidential debate. — Move over Joe Six-Pack. — Rivals John McCain and Barack Obama offered a new moniker tonight to describe the everyday voter: Joe Plumber. — McCain first made the reference in attacking Obama's economic proposals …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Ben Smith's Blogs, TalkLeft, Buck Naked Politics, Whiskey Fire, 24Ahead and Maggie's Notebook
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Washington Post:
Exclusive: Verizon and AT&T Provided Cell Towers for McCain Ranch — BY JAMES V. GRIMALDI — Early in 2007, just as her husband launched his presidential bid, Cindy McCain decided to resolve an old problem — the lack of cellular telephone coverage on her remote 15-acre ranch near Sedona …
Ace / minx.cc:
BRUNNER COMPELLED BY COURT TO ADMIT SHE'S BEEN CONCEALING TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND UNMATCHED REGISTRATIONS FROM LOCAL BOARDS OF ELECTIONS UPDATE: NON-RESIDENT OBOTS FRAUDULENTLY VOTING IN OHIO — Updated: The tip was accurate, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer got the story out first. See update after background.
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Ian Urbina / New York Times:
Court Ruling May Impede Thousands of Ohio Voters
Court Ruling May Impede Thousands of Ohio Voters
Discussion:
AlterNet.org
Andrew M. Seder / The Times Leader:
Secret Service says “Kill him” allegation unfounded — SCRANTON - The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton said allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Barack Obama's name was mentioned during Tuesday's Sarah Palin rally are unfounded.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Little Green Footballs, NewsBusters.org, BeltwayBlips and Weekly Standard
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Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Stan Greenberg's Focus Group: “Decisive” for Obama — As I type this, Stan Greenberg is briefing reporters on his focus group of undecided voters in Colorado. He said the respondents felt Obama “won” and that the results were “more decisive than either of the last two.”
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Time Edit / Swampland:
Undecideds Laughing At, Not With, McCain — From TIME's Amy Sullivan: — In politics it is generally not considered a good sign when voters are laughing at you, not with you. And by the end of the third and last presidential debate, the undecided voters who had gathered in Denver …
Fox News:
Hip-Hop-Dancing Colin Powell Fuels Speculation He'll Endorse Obama — Colin Powell showed off his hip-hop moves at an ‘Africa Rising’ celebration in London Tuesday, fueling speculation that the former secretary of state is about to endorse Barack Obama for president. — FOXNews.com
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Voting for Obama anyway — I just got an astounding e-mail from a Republican consultant I know well. He's a guy who's always thought Obama had a “glass jaw,” and was always among those agitating for hitting Obama harder. — Recently, he conducted a focus group in an upper-Midwestern state …
Discussion:
LiberalOasis, Multi Medium, Comments from Left Field, The Campaign Spot, Salon, Sister Toldjah, culturekitchen, The Corner, Argghhh!, NO QUARTER, Wizbang and Daily Kos
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Matt Bai / New York Times:
Working for the Working- Class Vote — For a guy who just four years ago was running his first statewide campaign, Barack Obama has made startlingly few missteps as a presidential candidate. But the moment Obama would most like to take back now, if he could, was the one last April when …
Discussion:
Fox News, NewsBusters.org, www.redstate.com, TIME.com, Matthew Yglesias, Ben Smith's Blogs and Hot Air
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Joe: Obama's ‘tap dance almost as good as Sammy Davis, Jr.’ — Katie gets the first interview with Joe Wurzelbacher and, like everyone else in America, he talks like a pundit. — “McCain was solid in his performance,” he says. “I still don't know where he stands,” he says of Obama.
Discussion:
Tennessee Guerilla Women
Noah Pollak / Commentary:
Attackus Interruptus — A losing night for McCain. And worse, a puzzling one. He whiffed more times than a drunk .100 hitter. Opportunities abounded to drive home simple, direct, and perfectly legitimate arguments against Obama: his support for federally-funded and late-term abortions …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
INITIAL REACTION — The consensus from initial reactions is that this was McCain's best of the three debates. And I'm not sure I disagree with that. One of the best sum-ups I saw was actually from Republican Mike Murphy, which we'll show you shortly. I think that in formal debating terms …
Discussion:
www.redstate.com
Lynn Sweet:
McCain misleading public in role Ayers played in Obama political career — WASHINGTON—Barack Obama continues to be attacked by John McCain and other Republicans for his relationship with Bill Ayers, the former terrorist turned respected Chicago educator. Obama served on civic boards …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
The reaction shots — McCain has had some bad moments in the reaction shots.
Discussion:
Donklephant
Ramesh Ponnuru / The Corner:
I Don't See It — A couple folks here have been saying that McCain is doing better than in the previous two debates. I wish it were true, but I just don't see it. I think a few times McCain has come across as spluttering.
Discussion:
The Nation
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Hasn't Closed the Sale — Both candidates continue to tinker with their strategies. — In the campaign's final two weeks, voters will take a last serious look at both presidential candidates. The outcome of the race isn't cast in stone yet. — Barack Obama holds a 7.3% lead …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Snap Polls — CNN who won the debate? — Obama 58, McCain 31: — CBS who won the debate? — Obama 53, McCain 22: — McCain had some okay jabs at Obama that I think impressed some of the CNN panelists and, especially, got the conservative ones jazzed up.
Mark R. Levin / The Corner:
Something New — McCain is doing something tonight that not only he hasn't done before, but neither have the media — he is holding Obama to account for his actual record of comments and actions, and he is stating his position in terms that, IMHO, can and I believe will resonate with many Americans.
Marc Ambinder:
Take Two: Two Analyses Diverge In The Woods — The media is replaying McCain's “I'm not President Bush line.” — The CBS live focus group seems to think McCain did well. — Here's video of McCain's “deer in the headlight” moment. — Four members of Frank Luntz's 23-person focus group switched to Obama.