EXCLUSIVE: McCain lambastes Bush years  —  ‘We just let things get completely out of hand’  —  NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW:  —  ABOARD THE STRAIGHT TALK AIR — Sen. John McCain on Wednesday blasted President Bush for building a mountain of debt for future generations, failing to pay for expanding Medicare …

Palin In 2012: The Argument  —  There's a suspicion in some McCain loyalist precincts that Gov. Sarah Palin is beginning to play the Republican base against John McCain — McCain won't let her campaign in Michigan...McCain won't let her bring up Jeremiah Wright... McCain doesn't like her terrorist pal talks....

Far-right Austrian leader sacked for revealing gay affair with Jörg Haider  —  The successor of the Austrian far-right leader Jörg Haider was dismissed yesterday after he revealed a “special” relationship “far beyond” friendship with his former mentor.

NYT'S UNFORGETTABLE HIRE: BONO  —  Like Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter before him, New York Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal sees something special in a certain teensy Gaelic man who refuses to remove his sunglasses.  That's right, the Timesman announced last night …

Gallup Daily: Obama Has Modest Lead Among Likely Voters  —  Size of margin four or six points depending on turnout assumptions  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Poll Daily tracking shows Barack Obama running ahead of John McCain among likely voters — 50% to 46% using the “traditional” …

WHO IS JOHN GALT?  —  We've previously noted the gusher of illegal campaign contributions flowing into the Obama campaign from contributors such as “Doodad Pro” and “Good Will.”  More recently, incidents have been reported in which people have seen credit card charges surface suggesting they donated to Barack Obama when they did not.

Ex-ACORN worker: ‘I paid the price’ for voter registration fraud  —  SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) — Clifton Mitchell helped register nearly 2,000 voters for the community group ACORN.  But not one of them actually existed.  —  “I regret it.  I paid the price for it,” he said.

Finally, Someone Asked Her  —  We now know what Gov. Palin thinks about immigration, and the results are not good (h/t Auster): … Now, it was obvious, as McCain's running mate, she had to toe the McCain line.  But which McCain line?  After the campaign's near-death experience …

Murtha's hold on House seat slips  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  Two veteran warriors battling to represent the 12th Congressional District appear locked in the closest race in the district in years.  —  Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little …

Why the Republicans Must Lose  —  Nothing short of defeat will put the GOP back on its limited government track  —  I grew up in a particularly conservative part of the already conservative state of Indiana.  I voted for Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000, generally because …

NRSC ad assumes Obama win  —  The underlying premise of this new ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee: Obama's going to win.  —  The ad, on behalf of Senator Elizabeth Dole, urges a vote against challenger Kay Hagan as the last bulwark against complete Democratic control:

Prop 8 a Toss-Up  —  A ‘yes’ vote on California Proposition 8 would amend the state's constitution to prohibit gay marriage.  A ‘no’ vote would maintain the constitution, which the California Supreme Court ruled in May provides equal protection for gay marriage.

With $605 million already, Obama asks only $10 more from each of us  —  Having hauled in a record $208,333 every hour of every day last month — $150 million in all — plus a few more unreported millions so far this month, Barack Obama is worried that he might come up short in the political money war …

Rebranding the U.S. With Obama  —  The other day I had a conversation with a Beijing friend and I mentioned that Barack Obama was leading in the presidential race:  —  She: Obama? … [Long pause.]  —  She: Really? … We're beginning to get a sense of how Barack Obama's political success …

The punditocracy's Seven Biggest Blunders of the 2008 election  —  Guess what?  The Conventional Wisdom has blown it again in handicapping Obama vs. McCain in the homestretch.  —  This has been a campaign season when the conventional wisdom has fared about as well as Bob Barr's prospects for moving into the Oval Office.

Greenspan Concedes Error on Regulation  —  Facing a firing line of questions from Washington lawmakers, Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman once considered the infallible maestro of the financial system, admitted on Thursday that he “made a mistake” in trusting that free markets …

GOP Mailer discovered: Democrat has ‘radical homosexual’ agenda, will force Boy Scouts to accept gays  —  A new anti-gay offensive has been launched against Democratic North Carolina state senator and U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan.  Campaign literature produced by the North Carolina Republican Party …

The Full Obama Interview  —  Q] I want to ask you some questions about the way you make decisions and then some questions about issues.  To me the signal decision of this election was the way you chose your vice-president and the way he chose his.  You are known for deliberation and being a rational decision-maker.

Poll: Obama edges ahead of McCain in Montana  —  Eds: APNewsNow.  Will be led.  —  By MATT GOURAS Asscoiated Press Writer HELENA, Mont. (AP) A new poll shows that Democrat Barack Obama could be edging ahead of Republican John McCain in Montana.  —  Obama is at 44 percent and John …

GOING TO THE WELL A LITTLE TOO OFTEN.... It was the basis of a debate message.  And a stump speech.  And an ad campaign.  —  And now it's a tour. … Yes, that's right, John McCain is kicking off a “Joe the Plumber” tour.  Seriously.  —  This is terribly odd for a variety of reasons …

Barney Frank, Meet Robert Heinlein  —  This morning's WSJ editorial on “Obamanomics” starts with this quote from Barney Frank (and as you read it, note how confident the Left is: One of the main culprits of the credit crisis, saying this sort of stuff already, just before we vote and before they are even fully in power):

POLITICS: Final Text of Iraq Pact Reveals a U.S. Debacle  —  The final draft of the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces agreement on the U.S. military presence represents an even more crushing defeat for the policy of the George W. Bush administration than previously thought, the final text reveals.

AM Polls Show Surprisingly Large Leads for Obama  —  New polling this morning from the Big Ten polling consortium and Quinnipiac University present a view of what the world might look like if Barack Obama wins in a landslide.  —  The Big Ten polls have Obama ahead by double digits in ten Midwestern states …

Darcy Burner's Degree  —  My thoughts on this absurd Seattle Times hit on Darcy Burner:  —  Harvard, as you know, is old and fancy.  Consequently, it has a lot of old and fancy terminology and procedures that differ somewhat from the American norm.  They don't, for example, have …