Good news: Toledo moves to shut down Joe the Plumber  —  Look on the bright side.  The media's finally starting to vet acquaintances of Barack Obama. … Also revealed: His boss's business probably doesn't bring in anywhere near $250,000 a year so he should stop dreaming about turning …

Barack Obama for President  —  THE NOMINATING process this year produced two unusually talented and qualified presidential candidates.  There are few public figures we have respected more over the years than Sen. John McCain.  Yet it is without ambivalence that we endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Obama, McCain bring humor to dinner  —  NEW YORK — Barack Obama and John McCain appeared together tonight at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.  The entertaining pool report from the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny is below.  —  Senator Barack Obama was preceded - actually …

Thinking About Obama  —  We've been watching Barack Obama for two years now, and in all that time there hasn't been a moment in which he has publicly lost his self-control.  This has been a period of tumult, combat, exhaustion and crisis.  And yet there hasn't been a moment when he has displayed rage …

Shocker: Tribune Co. Gives Notice To Drop AP  —  NEW YORK Tribune Company has given a two-year notice to the Associated Press that its daily newspapers plan to drop the news service, becoming the first major newspaper chain to do so since the recent controversy over new rates began.

Congratulations, Obama!:  Media's Savaging of Joe the Plumber Causes Witness to Ayers-Obama Relationship to Get Cold Feet  —  The tip, and this is just a tip, but it's coming from someone reliable:  —  The problem in this story is twofold.  Without wanting to provide details, the story really needs a second source.

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.

McCain tries to make peace with Letterman  —  NEW YORK (AP) — John McCain told David Letterman that “I screwed up” by canceling a “Late Show” appearance three weeks ago, then faced a sharp round of questioning about Sarah Palin and his campaign tactics.  —  Not willing to risk the wrath …

Let's Get Fiscal  —  The Dow is surging!  No, it's plunging!  No, it's surging!  No, it's ...  Nevermind.  While the manic-depressive stock market is dominating the headlines, the more important story is the grim news coming in about the real economy.  It's now clear that rescuing …

Only Blogosphere Currently Reporting on Jack Murtha Cancelling His Debate  —  Hot on the heels of Congressman Jack Murtha charging the voters of western Pennsyvania as being racists who will probably hurt Barack Obama in that state comes the breaking news this evening that Murtha has cancelled …

U.S. policies may have contributed to Iran revolution, study says  —  The shah and his third wife, Farah, before the ouster, with their children Reza, Farahnaz, Leila and Ali-Reza, from left.  They are posing in a sleigh.  —  A report based on declassified documents suggests that the Nixon …

‘DIP’ Loans Are Scarce, Complicating Bankruptcies  —  Credit has gotten so tight in recent weeks that companies contemplating a bankruptcy filing can't find the cash needed to get through the process.  —  This multibillion-dollar corner of the lending market — debtor-in-possession and exit financing …

Bush to give pep talk to anxious country Friday  —  WASHINGTON - Wild gyrations on Wall Street, a loss of confidence in the U.S. banking system and worries the economy will be weak for some time are raising Americans' anxiety level.  —  Against this backdrop, President Bush on Friday …