100,000 in St. Louis, MO: “All I can say is, wow.”  —  Barack just concluded his speech underneath the Gatway Arch in St. Louis, in front of a record crowd of over 100,000 people.  “All I can say is, wow,” Barack said as he took the stage. … Read the full remarks of Barack's speech in St. Louis, as prepared for delivery . . .

Pfotenhauer Insults Virginians: ‘Real Virginia’ Is Only Where McCain Is Winning  —  On MSNBC this morning, McCain adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer asserted that “real Virginia” does not include Northern Virginia: … MSNBC host Kevin Corke gave Pfotenhauer a chance to revise her answer, telling her …

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 …

Racists for Obama?  —  New polling and a trickle of stories from the battleground states suggest that Sen. Barack Obama's coalition includes one unlikely group: white voters with negative views of African-Americans.  —  Race has become the elephant in the room of the 2008 presidential campaign …

Today's Polls, 10/18  —  John McCain has once again improved his position in the national tracking polls, having gained ground in 4 of the [5] 6 trackers that published today (Rasmussen and IBD/TIPP were the exceptions).  ** Our model now perceives that Obama has come somewhat off his peak numbers …

Class Will Tell  —  Why is Bill Ayers a respectable member of the upper middle class and Sarah Palin contemptible?  —  Pour yourself a Johnnie Walker Black and remember.  The presidential campaign was going to be about sex—the sex of the inevitable winning candidate.  Then it was going to be about race.

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 …

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.

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 …

A tale of two networks  —  Carl Cameron and Ed Henry are both top-flight reporters.  —  But they work for networks which are viewed in, shall we say, differing lights by Republican activists.  —  So when Fox's Cameron and CNN's Henry took to opposing risers today at a McCain rally in Woodbridge …

Some early W.Va. voters angry over switched votes  —  Jackson County touch-screens switched votes, 3 residents say  —  At least three early voters in Jackson County had a hard time voting for candidates they want to win.  —  Virginia Matheney and Calvin Thomas said touch-screen machines …

Gallup Daily: Obama Maintains Lead  —  Among registered voters, Obama now leads 50% to 42%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking report from Wednesday through Friday, including two days of interviewing after Wednesday night's final presidential debate …

Cocoon: The Return  —  On this business of “elite cocoons” and “conservative cocoons”:  —  One of the things I love about America (speaking as a foreigner) is how decentralized it is.  Pace “New York, New York”, you don't have to make it there, you can make it anywhere.