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.

GOP Pulling Its Ads From Bachmann's Race, Media Buyers Say  —  Five days after Rep. Michele Bachmann went on a McCarthy-esque rant suggesting Barack Obama was unpatriotic and urging the major newspapers of the country to investigate anti-American sentiment in Congress, the national Republican political parties are running for cover.

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.

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 …

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 …

In New McCain Robocall, Rudy Giuliani Suggests Obama Opposes Jailing Murderers And Rapists  —  It was perhaps predictable that the task of recording the worst of McCain's robo-slime — the worst so far, at least — would fall to Rudy Giuliani.  —  Giuliani has recorded a new McCain robocall …

A Day At The Congressional Races  —  Here's today's run-down of the Congressional races:  —  National House Committees Shell Out Big Money, NRCC Finally In The Game  —  Both parties' national House committees shelled out big bucks in the newest federal filings.

Poll: Obama Holds Leads in Key States; McCain Attacks Not Swaying Voters  —  With less than two weeks to go 'til Election Day, Barack Obama has held or increased his leads in four key states won by President George W. Bush in 2004 — Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia …

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 …

Top Iran officials recommend preemptive strike against Israel  —  Senior Tehran officials are recommending a preemptive strike against Israel to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear reactors, a senior Islamic Republic official told foreign diplomats two weeks ago in London.

SOCIAL SECURITY ALT.UNIVERSE  —  CNN just played the Social Security portion of John McCain's interview with Wolf Blitzer.  And two key points stood out.  —  First, McCain fabricated an alternative history of the 2005 Social Security battle in order to create a new tax talking points.

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.

Study: Coverage of McCain Much More Negative Than That of Obama  —  Media coverage of John McCain has been heavily unfavorable since the political conventions, more than three times as negative as the portrayal of Barack Obama, a new study says.  —  Fifty-seven percent of the print …

Gallup Daily: Obama's Likely Voter Lead is 5 to 8 Points  —  Candidate preferences have been fairly stable  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Regardless of the predictors used to identify likely voters, the conclusion is the same — Barack Obama maintains a significant lead over John …