Palin Explains What Parts Of Country Not “Pro-America”  —  The McCain campaign is seeking to clarify a remark reported from a Sarah Palin fundraiser in North Carolina yesterday in which the Alaska Governor declared that she loved to visit the “pro-America” areas of the country — implying …

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.

McCain May Stumble With Focus on ‘Joe the Plumber’  —  Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — John McCain's bid to shore up his poll numbers by highlighting “Joe the plumber” may backfire.  —  Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, the Toledo plumber who criticized the tax proposals of Democratic nominee Barack Obama …

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 …

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.

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.

For Immediate Release  —  ARLINGTON, VA - Today, Cindy McCain made available the summary pages of her most recently filed federal income tax return (2007).  This information is available on the McCain campaign's website at http://www.johnmccain.com/mccainfinanci al/.

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 …

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.

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.”

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Obama Camp Charges GOP with ‘Partisan Plot’ to Suppress Votes  —  Christopher Cooper reports from Roanoke, Va., on the presidential race.  —  The Obama campaign charged Friday that John McCain, in concert with the Bush administration, has embarked on a studied effort to disrupt Election Day in many states and suppress the vote.

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 Lawyer Asks for Probe of Republican Voter-Fraud Claims  —  Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Barack Obama's campaign attorney today asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to add a probe into allegedly false Republican claims of voter fraud to the investigation into the firings of U.S. attorneys.