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....

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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” …

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.

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.

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:

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 …

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 …

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 …

Hasselbeck to Campaign for Palin  —  ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: The McCain-Palin campaign's efforts to reach women is about to get a celebrity boost: Elisabeth Hasselbeck is set to join Gov. Sarah Palin on the campaign trail.  —  “The View” co-host said Thursday the McCain campaign contacted …

Jury reports ‘violent outbursts’ in Stevens case  —  The jury foreman in Sen. Ted Stevens's criminal case has asked Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to dismiss one juror because of her “violent outbursts,” temporarily delaying deliberations in the Alaska Republican's corruption case.

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 …

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 …

Money & Business  —  Home > Money & Business > Capital Commerce > Would Obama, Dems Kill 401(k) Plans?  —  Would Obama, Dems Kill 401(k) Plans?  —  I hate to use the “S” word, but the American government would never do something as, well, socialist as seize private pension funds, right?

Gingrich: SNL's Palin skits are ‘slander’ ‘worthy of a lawsuit.’  —  Bashing the “elite” media as usual on Fox News last night, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich claimed that Saturday Night Live's skits mocking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin were “vicious” and a “total distortion of who Governor Palin is.”

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 …

HIGH-SPEED RAIL IN CALIFORNIA?  —  Ezra mentions the various progressive outcomes possible from California ballot initiatives this year, including maintaining the legality of gay marriage and ensuring humane treatment of livestock.  But the truly awesome and under-the-radar California ballot initiative …

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.

The history argument  —  Thank you all so much for the early voting stories, and if you early voted for McCain, please send in those stories as well.  (Between the enthusiasm gap and the blog reader demographic, these e-mails tilt disproportionately to Obama backers.)