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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

GOP “Death List” Predicts Democratic Blowout in the House  —  Voter displeasure with the war and economy, coupled with Sen. Barack Obama's popularity, has the House GOP running for cover.  Even though polls have shown that Americans don't like congressional Democrats any more …

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 …