Woman Attacked At ATM, Assailant Carves Letter Into Her Face  —  Woman Robbed, Attacked With Knife At Bloomfield ATM  —  PITTSBURGH — A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said.  —  Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard …

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....

MEDIA REFUSING TO REPORT, INSISTS CONTRIBUTIONS ARE REAL— DESPITE OCT. 9 NYT REPORT NOTING FICTITIOUS CONTRIBUTORS  —  Bumped; Sticky.  Will remain top story for an hour.  Updates linked at post's end.  Fresh posts follow this one.  —  Mark Steyn cautions, though: Stop donating just to test it out.

Greenspan Concedes to ‘Flaw’ in His Market Ideology  —  Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said a “once-in-a-century credit tsunami” has engulfed financial markets and conceded that his free-market ideology shunning regulation was flawed.

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 …

McCain might skip his own election-night party  —  NEW YORK - Republican John McCain is not going to make his election night remarks in the traditional style — at a podium standing in front of a sea of campaign workers jammed into a hotel ballroom.  Oh, the throng of supporters will hold …

Wardrobe Mysteries Linger  —  About that wardrobe ...  There are still aspects of the Republican National Committee's shopping sprees on behalf of Gov. Sarah Palin and her family that are murky.  —  Some of the fashion experts consulted Wednesday, for instance, about the $150,000 in purchases …

Former Bush aide voting for Obama  —  (CNN) — Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary who sharply criticized President Bush in his memoir last spring, told CNN Thursday he's voting for Barack Obama.  —  “From the very beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate …

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.

Council Votes, 29 to 22, to Extend Term Limits  —  (Photos: James Estrin/The New York Times)  —  After a spirited, emotional and at times raucous debate, the New York City Council voted, 29 to 22, on Thursday afternoon to extend term limits, allowing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg …

DEFINING ‘ELITE’.... It's a little jarring to hear John McCain and Sarah Palin complain about “elites.”  We are, after all, talking about two wealthy and powerful Republican politicians.  And yet, complain they do.  —  In the second part of his interview with the members of the Republican ticket …

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.

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” …

Breaking: New poll shows Russell over Murtha, 48-35  —  A Pennsylvania source has just leaked me brand spanking new poll data showing GOP upstart Bill Russell leading John Murtha among over 800 probable voters by 48-35.  —  This comes on top of the Susquehanna poll showing Murtha ahead …

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 …

Quiet in the peanut gallery  —  Matt Taibbi shreds Byron York into little tiny pieces … I love Matt Taibbi's work.  I just wish that when he has no idea what he is talking about, he would shut the hell up, rather than making an awkward public.  Of course, in this exchange he looks …

McCain Shifting His Ad Spending From Kerry States To Bush States, A New Analysis Finds  —  In another sign that John McCain is on the defensive as time runs out, the McCain campaign is shifting its ad money out of blue tossup states and into red tossups and even traditionally red states, according to ad maven Evan Tracey.

Republican HQ Manager's Home Shot Up Over McCain Signs  —  ‘Democrats Far More Aggressive in Seminole County,’ Victim Says  —  LONGWOOD, Fla. — The home of a Central Florida Republican headquarters manager was shot up and damaged over his support of Sen. John McCain, the man told police.

Times poll: Obama 49, McCain 42  —  Independent Florida voters are on the verge of killing John McCain's hopes for the presidency.  —  A new St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald poll shows Barack Obama leading McCain 49 percent to 42 percent in this state McCain cannot afford to lose.

Someone Put On His Thinking Cap  —  From a reader: … Update: Hey, enraged lefty blog minions emailing me with all this name-calling b.s.: A) Calm down, I was being sarcastic, not serious.  B) What are you people so furious about?  That your candidate will continue to get more fraudulent donations?