memeorandum: On robocalls, Dems issue challenge, Collins counters (Jessica Alaimo/Politicker ME)

2:05 PM ET, October 18, 2008

Top Items:

Behind McCain, Outsider in Capital Wanting Back In — Cindy McCain was new to Washington and not yet 30 when she arrived at a luncheon for Congressional spouses to discover a problem with her name tag. — It read “Carol McCain.” That was the well-liked wife John McCain had left to marry Cindy …

Discussion: Hot Air, Power Line, NewsBusters.org, Washington Post, Wizbang, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Salon, Emptywheel, Fausta's Blog, TIME.com, unbossed.com, Political Punch, Townhall.com, USS Neverdock and MSNBC

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Dissecting Cindy McCain's private world — The New York Times today has a very strange, lengthy front-page story on Cindy McCain — by Jodi Kantor and David Halbfinger — dredging up some unpleasant episodes in the distant past of her private life without adding any new information …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and Eschaton

Martina Stewart / CNN:

Obama seeks special prosecutor in fraud inquiry — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama campaign announced Friday that it is asking Attorney General Michael Mukasey to turn over any investigations of voter fraud or voter suppression to Special Prosecutor Nora Dannehy.

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, The New Editor, The Strata-Sphere, Jules Crittenden and Truthdig

Mary Pat Flaherty / Washington Post:

Thousands Face Mix-Ups In Voter Registrations — In New Databases, Many Are Wrongly Flagged as Ineligible — Thousands of voters across the country must reestablish their eligibility in the next three weeks in order for their votes to count on Nov. 4, a result of new state registration systems that are incorrectly rejecting them.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Electoral-vote.com, The Caucus, TIME.com and New York Times

Justin Rood / ABCNEWS:
McCain Acorn Fears Overblown

Discussion: Washington Monthly, A Blog For All, Democratic Strategist, MSNBC, Facing South, 24Ahead and NewsBusters.org

Thomas M. Defrank / NY Daily News:

Signs that Republican Colin Powell will support Barack Obama for president — WASHINGTON - After months of playing political Hamlet, Colin Powell is finally ready to tell America who he likes for President - and the smart money says Barack Obama is Powell's choice.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Salon, PoliBlog (TM) and Yahoo! News

CNN:

Fact check: Obama said he would ‘spread his wealth around’? — The Statement — Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, during a speech on October 16 outside Philadelphia, recounted the story of “Joe the Plumber,” a man who held a conversation with Democratic candidate Sen. Barack …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money

Associated Press:
McCain suggests Obama tax plans socialist

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Scared Monkeys and Associated Press

Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:

Sarah Palin's Future — Alaska's most valuable resource. — Six thousand tickets were grabbed up in three hours for Sarah Palin's speech here at the baseball field of Elon University. An even larger crowd—9,000 inside, 3,000 outside—showed up across the state in Greenville a few days earlier.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and ATTACKERMAN

Ross Douthat:

What Is The Conservative Cocoon? — Ach, okay, I'll wade back in to this debate one more time, because I think Mark Steyn has slightly mistaken the thrust of this post: … Just to clarify: Sarah Palin's Alaska is not the conservative cocoon. Neither is Tim Pawlenty's Minnesota …

Discussion: Eunomia and The Corner

Mark Steyn / The Corner:
Cocoon: The Return — On this business of “elite cocoons” and “conservative cocoons”:

Discussion: Commentary

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Obama's Ad Effort Swamps McCain and Nears Record — PHILADELPHIA — Senator Barack Obama is days away from breaking the advertising spending record set by President Bush in the general election four years ago, having unleashed an advertising campaign of a scale and complexity unrivaled in the television era.

Discussion: Townhall.com, Newsweek Blogs and TIME.com

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Obama Viewed as Winner of Third Debate — Completes “sweep” of three debates for Obama — PRINCETON, NJ — Round three of the presidential debates went to Barack Obama, according to a one-night USA Today/Gallup poll of debate watchers conducted Oct. 16, completing a sweep of the three debates for Obama.

Discussion: The Swamp

David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:

Michelle Bachmann gives voice to the right's darkest impulses — Chris Matthews just gave Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Outer Wingnuttia, all the rope she wanted yesterday on Hardball, and boy did she make a handy little noose with it. — First Matthews tried to get Bachmann to tell his audience …

Discussion: DemConWatch, MyDD, Rising Hegemon, DownWithTyranny! and The Reaction

Gail Collins / New York Times:

Is Anybody Happy? — Now is the October of our discontent. — First of all, George W. Bush showed up on TV Friday morning to reassure the nation. What could possibly be worse? — Everybody knows that anything our president says is very likely wrong, and certainly won't happen.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Commentary and The Sideshow

CNN:

Biden lashes out at Palin's ‘pro-America’ comment — (CNN) — Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden ripped into recent comments by his Republican counterpart that suggested that some places in the U.S. are more “pro-America” than others. — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told a fundraiser …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hullabaloo, Connecting.the.Dots, Jesus' General, Truthdig, RADAMISTO and D-Day

Huma Khan / Political Radar:
Biden Blasts Palin's “Pro-America” Comments

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Firedoglake and MyDD

Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:

Surprising Boosts for Obama from Denver and Salt Lake Papers — Also Endorsed by 'AJC," ‘KC Star’ and ‘Sun-Times’ — NEW YORK What a day. The Denver Post, which had backed George W. Bush in 2004 and is owned by Republican-leaning William Dean Singleton, this evening endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Reaction, Buck Naked Politics, Mother, May I Sleep …, Denver Post and AMERICAblog News

Brian M. Carney / Wall Street Journal:

Bernanke Is Fighting the Last War — ‘Everything works much better when wrong decisions are punished and good decisions make you rich.’ — On Aug. 9, 2007, central banks around the world first intervened to stanch what has become a massive credit crunch.

Omaha World-Herald:

University cancels speech by Ayers — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln rescinded its speaking invitation tonight for 1960s radical-turned-educator William Ayers. — University officials cited “safety reasons” for canceling Ayers' Nov. 15 appearance. — Spokeswoman Kelly Bartling declined …

Discussion: Townhall.com, Wake up America and JammieWearingFool

David Brown / Washington Post:

Questions Linger About McCain's Prognosis After Skin Cancer — In May, the presidential campaign of 72-year-old cancer survivor John McCain tried to put to rest doubts about his health by allowing a few reporters to inspect his medical records, but the effort has failed to quell questions …

Discussion: PoliGazette, The Strata-Sphere, Stop The ACLU and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Jim Lindgren / The Volokh Conspiracy:

Joe and Barack's Tax Problems. I was stunned to see some document showing Joe the Plumbers' tax problems on my 10pm (CT)newscast on the local NBC affiliate in Chicago on Thursday night. They have very little time for any national news and they actually spent time on Joe the Plumbers' tax problems.

Discussion: The Corner

Jessica Alaimo / Politicker ME:

On robocalls, Dems issue challenge, Collins counters — SOUTH PORTLAND — Earlier today, the Maine Democratic Party called on U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) to call on Republican Presidential candidate John McCain to halt robocalls that tie Democratic candidate Barack Obama to 60's radical activist Bill Ayers.

Discussion: Political Punch

Orlando Sentinel:

Obama, Clinton to rally outside Amway Arena on Monday — Staff and Wire Reports — Political Pulse OrlandoSentinel.com/politicalpulse — Obama, Clinton to rally outside Amway Arena at 6 p.m. Monday — Barack Obama is scheduled to appear with U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., at 6 p.m. Monday at Orlando's Amway Arena.