To Avoid Being ‘Depressed,’ Palin Skimps on Campaign News  —  GREENSBORO, N.C. — No wonder GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin harbors such hostility toward the mainstream media: her staff imposes limits on her access to it.  —  During a fundraiser here that raised $800,000 last night …

Tribune endorsement: Barack Obama for president  —  Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama campaigns in Roanoke, Va. today.  (Getty photo by Joe Raedle / October 17, 2008)  —  However this election turns out, it will dramatically advance America's slow progress toward equality and inclusion.

Michelle Malkin Bids for Self-Parody Award  —  I try really hard not to dignify Michelle Malkin by responding to her rants.  But I can't let this one pass.  —  It seems that Malkin is angry over the recent treatment of Joe Wurzelbacher—a.k.a., “Joe the Plumber.”

High court rejects GOP bid in Ohio voting dispute  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is siding with Ohio's top elections official in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registrations.  —  The justices on Friday overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's …

Colin Powell might endorse Obama  —  Retired Gen. Colin Powell, once considered a potential running mate for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), now may endorse his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), according to Republican sources.  But an air of mystery surrounds Powell's planned live appearance Sunday on NBC's …

Nation could face short Election Night  —  Network news executives said they are preparing for an unusual Election Night challenge: How to be honest with the audience, and still keep them tuned in, if the race between John McCain and Barack Obama is effectively decided before most Americans have finished dinner.

Palin's Failin'  —  What is it she stands for?  After seven weeks, we don't know.  —  “Sometimes the leak is so bad that even a plumber can't fix it.”  This was the concise summation of a cable political strategist the other day, after the third and final presidential debate.

Death threat, vandalism hit ACORN after McCain comments  —  WASHINGTON — An ACORN community organizer received a death threat and the liberal activist group's Boston and Seattle offices were vandalized Thursday, reflecting mounting tensions over its role in registering 1.3 million mostly poor and minority Americans to vote next month.

Poll: Voters souring on McCain, Obama stays steady  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to the public's image of John McCain, it's as if somebody dialed the electricity down in the past month.  For Barack Obama, the juice is still flowing.  —  People's regard for the Republican presidential nominee …

A Liberal Supermajority  —  Get ready for ‘change’ we haven't seen since 1965, or 1933.  —  If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it.

Webb knocks Palin  —  Appearing in Virginia with Barack Obama, Sen. Jim Webb was characteristically blunt, taking a few shots today at Sarah Palin and defending Barack Obama against attempts to cast him as an outsider, saying voters in more conservative southwest Virginia could trust him, Carrie Budoff Brown reports.

Bush Administration Contacts Obama, McCain, Biden On Iraq Troop Deal — But Snubs Palin  —  This week, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Barack Obama (D-IL), and Joe Biden (D-DE) all were contacted by Defense Secretary Robert Gates or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice regarding the Iraq security agreement.

Trader Drove Up Price of McCain ‘Stock’ in Online Market  —  An internal investigation by the popular online market Intrade has revealed that an investor has been attempting to artificially boost the prediction that Sen. John McCain will become president.  —  Over the past several weeks …

Fact Check: Did Obama vote against care for children born during abortions?  —  The Statement: During an October 15 presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain attacked Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama for his stance on abortion.

MCCAIN, OBAMA ASKED ABOUT INFIDELITY.... CBS News' Katie Couric continues to air a pretty interesting series in which she asks the exact same question to both John McCain and Barack Obama.  Last night, viewers saw Couric ask both candidate why they think so many prominent political figures risk so much by committing adultery.

Buy American.  I Am.  —  THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad.  Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher.  In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

Obama tells NY Times he'd do better without Fox News around  —  The New York Times, of all places, has a long interview coming out Sunday with the freshman senator from Illinois, Barack Obama.  —  In it, the Democratic presidential nominee, who's leading in most recent political polls …

Obama's Social Conservatism  —  We saw a glimpse of it in the last debate: … Obama's skin color has obscured a pretty basic fact about him: he seems to have had a very conservative private life as a public figure.  His marriage and family life have been much more traditional than John McCain's …