On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis, Support for McCain  —  Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.

Dr. Dobson Talks with Gov. Sarah Palin  —  The Republican vice presidential candidate talks about her family, the sanctity of human life and the pressures of the election season.  Dr. Dobson encourages listeners to pray for our country as the election draws near.  —  Listen to the broadcast:

Sarah Palin's Personal Shopper  —  M  —  ove over Carson Kressley.  A new celebrity shopper has emerged!  —  The attention from Jeanne Cummings's much-talked-about Politico story has naturally focused on the $150,000 in luxury clothing purchased for Sarah Palin at Neiman Marcus, Sak's Fifth Avenue, and Barney's.

AP presidential poll: All even in the homestretch … WASHINGTON (AP) - The presidential race tightened after the final debate, with John McCain gaining among whites and people earning less than $50,000, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that shows McCain and Barack Obama essentially running …

Woman quits job at call center over anti-Obama script  —  WESTON, W.Va. — Chaylee Cole, a student at Fairmont State University, lost her part-time job in Weston last Friday after refusing to make telephone calls attacking Barack Obama.  —  McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee …

The Making (and Remaking) of McCain  —  On the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 24, John McCain convened a meeting in his suite at the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.  Among the handful of campaign officials in attendance were McCain's chief campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt …

McCain ‘amazed’ by Palin treatment  —  John McCain called out fellow Republicans who have questioned running mate Sarah Palin's credentials Tuesday.  —  “What's their problem?”  McCain asked during an interview with radio host Don Imus.  —  “She is a governor, the most popular governor in America,” McCain said.

Obama Responds to Biden's “Crisis” Prophecy  —  Ben Smith reports: … Read the the full Biden quote in context, and decide whether Biden was merely saying that the next president will be tested “regardless of who it is” (emphases mine): … Is there any doubt that Biden meant …

FIRST THOUGHTS: OBAMA WIDENS LEAD  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann  —  *** Obama widens his lead: With 13 days to go, Obama has opened up his biggest lead over McCain in the NBC/WSJ poll, 52%-42%, which is up four points from his lead two weeks ago.

Obama takes on national security in Va. swing  —  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama convened a panel of foreign policy and military luminaries Wednesday to discuss “urgent issues” facing the country from abroad, an attempt to inoculate himself against the renewed charge that he is too untested for the White House.

FOX News Poll: Obama Grabs Nine Point Lead Over McCain  —  Less than two weeks before Election Day, Barack Obama leads John McCain 49 percent to 40 percent among likely voters, according to a FOX News poll released Wednesday.  —  Obama's advantage comes mainly from independents …

How Anti-Intellectual Is Palin?  —  Ramesh Ponnuru asks the question.  He refers to Noam Scheiber's devastating piece on Palin's Nixonian hatred of educated elites.  But Ponnuru wants more evidence.  Here's one way to look at the question: how has Palin brought up her own kids?

Race Boating: Swift Boat Backer Funds Racist Mail  —  Swift Boat funder Robert Perry, a top national Republican donor, is funding overtly racist attack mail this cycle.  It's not Swift Boating.  It's Race Boating.  —  A group called “Empower Texans,” chaired by Tim Dunn of Midland …

McCain Campaign Buys Air Time In Indiana  —  13 days before the election, the McCain campaign has decided to spend several hundred thousands dollars on a last-minute television buy in the state of Indiana.  —  This is the first time in a month that the campaign has spent its own money on television in the Hoosier state.

The ‘Socialist’ Scare  —  WOODBRIDGE — John McCain should not have to be here, not on a crisp October Saturday scarcely two weeks before the election.  Prince William County is the electoral Maginot line between the Washington suburbs and what a McCain spokeswoman has just unhelpfully described as “real Virginia.”