‘Joe the Plumber’ is focus of presidential debate's first few minutes  —  The story of “Joe the Plumber” - Joe Wurzelbacher of Shrewsbury Street in Springfield Township - became a centerpiece of the early minutes of the presidential debate last night.  —  And Joe the Plumber became the subject of national and international interest.

Inland GOP mailing depicts Obama's face on food stamp  —  Download story podcast  —  The Press-Enterprise  —  The latest newsletter by an Inland Republican women's group depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama surrounded by a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken, prompting outrage in political circles.

Harsh GOP robo-call hits Ayers  —  A harsh new robocall (above) — at least the third in a series — attacks Obama for having “worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers” whose group “killed Americans.”  —  Robocalls are a relatively inexpensive way to deliver a negative message …

Ayers Is No Education ‘Reformer’  —  The new media spin is worse than Obama's original evasion.  —  One of the most misleading statements during the presidential debates was when Barack Obama claimed that William Ayers was just “a guy in the neighborhood.”

TIME TO FORGET MCCAIN AND FIGHT FOR THE FILIBUSTER IN THE SENATE  —  The debate last night was not a blowout but frankly, McCain never came close.  He made a couple of good points about education, scored best with his pointed questions (that Obama never answered) about Ayers and ACORN, and had a couple of other nice moments.

Palin Rips Obama Over ACORN in Maine  —  BANGOR, Me.  — Speaking before a crowd of a few thousand supporters in an airport hangar, GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin continued to question Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's patriotism and commitment to fair elections.

Virginia GOP Mailer Depicts Dems — And Obama?  — As Appeasers Of Terrorists  —  In the race's final stretch, much of the real sludge and slime that floats to the surface will be the work not of the campaigns but of under-the-radar operations run by state parties and the like.

The Left's Big Blunder  —  The disastrously counter-productive strategy of Obama's supporters  —  Two campaigns are being waged right now for the presidency of the United States.  No, I'm not talking about the Obama campaign and the McCain campaign.  I'm talking about the real-world campaign and the meta-campaign.

Americans Flunk Simple 3-Question Political Survey  —  Some news audiences are more politically savvy than others, according to a new poll, with readers of The New Yorker and similar high-brow magazines being the most knowledgeable.  —  The survey, conducted between April 30 and June 1 …

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 …

Gallup Daily: Obama 49%, McCain 43%  —  Obama maintains lead, but falls under 50%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking report from Monday through Wednesday shows Barack Obama with a 49%to 43% lead over John McCain among registered voters.

Our view on labor laws: No way to form a union  —  Workers deserve to hear both sides, vote in private.  —  When citizens go to the polls on Nov. 4, they will be free to vote their conscience — regardless of pressure from relatives, friends or co-workers — after having had a chance to weigh the alternatives.

Fact-checking: Does anyone care?  —  The debate had barely concluded when ABC News' George Stephanopoulos threw it over to reporter John Berman at the network's “fact check desk” in Washington.  —  “One of the more telling things in this debate was Joe the Plumber,” Berman chimed in, “but as you noted, his name was Joe Wurzelbacher.

Senator Government V. Joe the Plumber  —  I'll have more to say about the debate in my print column, which releases later today.  But I did want to say a few things about my colleagues—in general, no names—and the coverage of the campaign this year.  —  Pundits tend to be a lagging indicator.

It's Really, Really, Really Over  —  Jacob S. Hacker is Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Center for Health, Economic, and Family Security at U.C. Berkeley.  He is also a Fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C. His most recent books are Health At Risk …

Conservatives and the Debate  —  The general feeling on the right side of the blogosphere is that this was McCain's best debate and he did himself a lot of good.  I think people on the Right were so relieved that the debate finally turned to matters of ideological and partisan moment …

Palin: 'We Shouldn't Worry About Government Not Having Enough Money'  —  Elizabeth Holmes reports from Manchester, N.H., on the presidential race.  —  GOP vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin defended John McCain's economic plan and the overall tone of the campaign in a feisty interview with WMUR in Manchester, N.H.

BLAMING KRISTOL FOR PALIN.... There's been quite a bit of animosity of late between the McCain campaign and Bill Kristol.  This wasn't at all expected, given that Kristol has been a McCain cheerleader for years.  —  But the two aren't getting along well this week at all.