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.

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 …

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.

“I Am Joe The Plumber?”  Well, Not Exactly  —  The Republican National Committee is sending around this Associated Press photo of overall-clad McCain supporters standing outside an Obama rally, clutching plungers and a sign proclaiming “I Am Joe The Plumber”:  —  The only problem?

Republicans file new lawsuit against Brunner  —  Rebuffed at U.S. Supreme Court, they turn to Ohio's top court  —  Having lost before the U.S. Supreme Court in a lawsuit involving the verification of new voter registrations, Republicans now are turning to the Ohio Supreme Court.

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/.

Palin plays the “socialist” card at Ohio rally  —  WEST CHESTER, Ohio (CNN) — It's not uncommon to hear Democrats accused of socialism at Republican campaign events.  It's less common to hear it directly from a Republican candidate — let alone the party's vice presidential nominee.

McCain Acorn Fears Overblown  —  Charges of Voter Fraud Are Out of Proportion to Reality, They Say  —  Charges of potential vote fraud volleyed by Republicans, including Sen. John McCain himself, are out of proportion to reality, according to election experts.

Barack Obama vows to ‘change the world’  —  Barack Obama has vowed that he will “change the world” even as he urged his supporters to guard against complacency.  —  The supremely confident demeanour and exalted rhetoric of the Democratic nominee at a New Hampshire event betrayed that he is a man convinced he is poised to make history.

Some Surveys Indicate Tighter Presidential Race  —  Differences in Predicting Outcome Result From How Pollsters Gauge Voter Turnout and Weight Party Affiliation  —  A spate of widely publicized newspaper and network polls over the past week have shown Barack Obama opening a big lead over John McCain.

Bad Spin Watch: Drudge Touts Weeks-Old, Web-Based Poll  —  For his latest trick, Matt Drudge is touting the results of an AP-Yahoo poll that shows a two-point race between Obama and McCain.  —  You may never have heard of the AP-Yahoo poll before.  This is for good reason …

Deep Breaths, Everyone!  —  Peggy Noonan and Kathleen Parker take up the Christopher Buckley business today.  In her Palin-centered column, Peggy says those “whose thoughts lead them to criticism in this area are to be shunned, and accused of the lowest motives,” and then cites Christopher's resignation …

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.

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.

Confident Dems take Senate fight into deep-red South  —  Sen. Charles Schumer and Senate Democrats are hoping to turn the tide blue in the South with a massive television advertising campaign in four southern states.  —  Democrats are on the air in the former Republican strongholds of Georgia …

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.

Fact Check: Would McCain make ‘drastic cuts’ in Medicare?  —  The Statement:  —  At a campaign stop Friday, October 17, in Roanoke, Virginia, Sen. Barack Obama took aim at Sen. John McCain's health care plan.  “The Wall Street Journal recently reported that it was actually worse than we thought.

New Name Pops Up In RNC Chair Race  —  Republican party insiders say that operatives close to Sen. John McCain's campaign are pushing Alec Poitevint, the former state party chairman of Georgia and a member of the Republican National Committee, to run for the RNC chairman's position.

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.”

Norm Coleman's ‘solution’ to the economic crisis?  The Hoover agenda.  —  Norm Coleman's ‘solution’ to the economic crisis?  The Hoover agenda.»  —  A new campaign ad from Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) titled “Solutions” says that Coleman's “plan” to tackle the economic crisis includes a proposal to “balance the budget in 5 years.”

Obama Supporter Assaults Female McCain Volunteer in New York  —  As the media fumes over nonexistent hate at Palin speeches, it ignores leftists who go berserk on city streets.  —  While the Democrat-leaning media continues to scare undecided voters with bedtime stories about some mythical angry …

How We Lost the War We Won  —  A Journey Into Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan  —  The highway that leads south out of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, passes through a craggy range of arid, sand-colored mountains with sharp, stony peaks.  Poplar trees and green fields line the road.